


harpocrates

by leovaldez



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, American Sign Language, Canonical Character Death, Deaf, Deaf Character, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Identity Issues, M/M, Minor Nico di Angelo/Will Solace, Non-Explicit Sex, Post-The Blood of Olympus (Heroes of Olympus), Pre-The Trials of Apollo, Wishful Thinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:55:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 22,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23442070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leovaldez/pseuds/leovaldez
Summary: Leo thought his death was his sacrifice from defeating Gaea. He was so wrong.(idea that leo lost "some" of his hearing in the explosion)
Relationships: Calypso/Leo Valdez, Jason Grace/Leo Valdez, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 17
Kudos: 75
Collections: Valgrace in the Canon Universe





	1. LEO

**Author's Note:**

  * For [leovaldez](https://archiveofourown.org/users/leovaldez/gifts).



> i gifted it to myself because this was so much work oh my god. i literally feel the ringing in my ear like i'm about to get another ear infection. i'm so tired ugh
> 
> anyway, i played around with his hearing loss, so now it's just complicated. i wrote a deaf Leo once but it was an au, plus I remember I had a CanonValgrace collection so why not. i asked my friend (the one with deaf parents) about how sign language should be written, and they said written like normal dialogue, so if anyone disagrees, tell me.
> 
> my lack of valgrace stuff is alarming to both me and you. i think i'm a little bummed that my senior year has been rendered wack due to coronacation, but what can you do :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sometimes it gets confusing so please do not HESITATE for clarification. 
> 
> assume after Leo meets harley (you'll understand when you see it) that everything like "This" is spoken in ASL, unless said otherwise.
> 
> should get obvious to a certain point but:  
>  **Writing or Typing**  
>  FLASHCARDS  
>  _Mouthing/Reading Lips_  
>  "Speaking (ASL included)"

Okay. So maybe death hurt. That was Leo’s fault for thinking otherwise.

He couldn’t move. He couldn’t see or hear. He could only feel pain. Leo started to panic, thinking maybe this was his eternal punishment.

Then somebody put jumper cables on his brain and restarted his life. He screamed and sat up. He couldn’t see much more than yellows and blues, all blurs, all uncertain. His right arm was in pain.

When his vision returned, in his arm was Festus’ giant needle, the vial empty and the needle now retreating back into the dragon. Underneath Leo, the dragon bristled, warmth flooding its body.

“Thanks, buddy,” Leo praised, patting Festus’ neck. He didn’t hear his own voice and winced. He must’ve lost it in his screaming. The dragon didn’t respond, sleepily resting in the sand, wide eyes blinking at Leo. Leo scanned the dragon’s body, mentally thinking about the plates that were fused together in the explosion and the missing claw. _Aw, look at you. I’ll fix you up when we get somewhere better,_ Leo mentally noted. Festus curled up, his metal scales sliding together silently.

Leo frowned. He felt wet and gross- but perhaps death did that to a demigod. The wind hit his face, but Leo hardly acknowledged it. Something was off, or maybe _he_ was off because coming from death wasn’t natural, so obviously nothing about him should be perfect too?

Down the beach was a blob. The blob jumped up and down and then began sprinting towards Leo. He squinted and then laughed, running up to the girl of his dreams. Screw the gods- Leo was freaking _amazing_ if he could escape death, make it out perfectly fine, _and_ get the girl. He whooped, the sound lost, as he ran towards Calypso.

She jumped on him, and the two fell, rolling in the sand. Leo grinned at her as he flipped on top. Calypso’s fingers interlaced behind his neck, her all smiles. She mouthed something and then pulled Leo down to kiss him. Leo faltered, pushing away in the sand.

“What?” He said aloud, despite knowing his voice was gone.

Calypso laughed and began speaking again, except her mouth opened, her tongue moved, and her cheeks stretched with happiness, but her voice failed to spill out, and nothing reached Leo. She stopped talking, waiting for Leo’s response, except his eyes were beginning to widen, and he stumbled back to his feet.

“Calypso?” He cupped her face. She rolled her eyes, but concern shone on her face.

 _LEO_ , Calypso said, except Leo only knew that because he knew what his name looked like, but not because he heard it, and he screamed at her, and she might’ve screamed back, but he didn’t hear it because he couldn’t hear anything.

Not the wind, the beach, not Calypso, not Festus, not himself. Leo’s fingers trembled at his ears, which were caked with a mix of dirt, gold dust, and blood, and he screamed a convoluted FUCK GAEA to the sea. It might’ve responded as the waves crashed again, in that salty-sweet bitterness it usually did, and he might’ve slipped into the sand, whether from his own unsteadiness or a reminder that Mother Earth was everywhere.

He didn’t understand that he was crying until Calypso’s light palms brushed his cheeks, and she said something to him again- something soft, maybe. She kissed his forehead and pulled at his tugging fingers- the fingers that were digging at his ears, his useless ears that heard that stupid explosion and then heard nothing. Calypso’s hands trailed from his ears, along his jaw and then down to his neck, and down his arms.

She pulled him up, yelling at Festus, and when she turned back, she must’ve seen something in Leo’s face, because she began to cry, and he felt terrible because he wasn’t supposed to make her cry. Leo was supposed to be her Prince Charming. He was the one who was supposed to save her and whisk her away from this idyllic prison.

Except Leo failed, and he couldn’t help but think this was his punishment.

* * *

Calypso tried her magic, but nothing worked. Clothed in clean clothes, and warmed with a bowl of stew, Leo sat facing the fire, head on her shoulder. Calypso’s cooking was as good as Leo had tasted a few weeks ago, while the clothing she remade was his army jacket and cargo pants that Leo had worn back in the Grand Canyon.

She didn’t say anything, or she could’ve been saying everything, but Leo couldn’t know because he only stared at the fire and nothing else. The flames fluttered upward, embers burning maddingly, flickers of smoke materializing into the night.

Eventually, Calypso got up, and he looked at her, and she looked at him and then kissing his cheek, she was gone. Leo sighed and fell back into the sand. His bare feet kicked out into the fire, and he gazed at the stars.

Festus, now halfway done with being fixed, blocked Leo’s view and fanned smoke in his face. Leo waved him off, saying, “Festus, come on.”

The dragon blinked at him. His head bowed down to Leo’s, and Leo heard the hum of Festus’ workings, and the engine chug-chug-chugging along in the machine, and the gears grinding and screws rattling. Leo pushed Festus in the way, not in the mood. The dragon’s eyes flickered, the visual Morse Code communicating with Leo.

“Don’t be sorry,” Leo said. “It’s not your fault.”

Festus blew more smoke in Leo’s face, then dumped his hundred-pound head next to Leo’s. Leo’s head twisted to the dragon, eyes’ tracing the intricate designs that only a child of Hephaestus could appreciate because, for Leo, only Festus made sense anymore; only Festus was real.

“Only a few more days,” Leo murmured. His hand reached out to Festus’ snout. Underneath his fingers, Leo could feel the heat of a living being, the divine connection with Festus. “We’ll see them soon, I promise.”

Festus shut his eyes and relaxed again. Leo curled up alongside the dragon, wiping away at teary eyes. He didn’t go to sleep, he hasn’t in days, and soon the sun rose again, and Calypso tiptoed out to meet Leo.

She smiled at him, and passed him a sandwich, sitting next to Leo. She talked to Festus, this Leo knew because he felt Festus underneath him, he heard Festus’ systems stop to understand the language, listened as the disk whirred as it sparked a translation, and watched as Festus’ eyes blinked with matching lights. Calypso couldn’t understand Festus, but Leo could because Festus was his, and Leo was his, but Calypso was a lone child born of misfortune and a desolate island.

She brushed off the crumbs and gestured toward Festus’ missing claw, asking what to do with it, Leo assumed. Festus gave his response, and Leo nodded.

“Pack your stuff,” Leo said. “We’ll leave in a few days.”

Calypso nodded. 

"It's not your fault," Leo reminded her. He kissed her cheek. "I _wanted_ to come back for you."

Calypso took a second and then slowly, _Okay._

* * *

It took a few months.

When he reached New York, the trees were coated with snow, until he hit the part that wasn’t and dove straight in. It was December again, reminding him of the first time he came to Camp Half-Blood last year with Piper and Jason.

Festus swept the grassy hills quietly, Calypso hopped down, and in an instant, they were swarmed with dozens of orange shirts and weapons.

Leo stayed on Festus’ neck, not sure what to do. What should he say to these people? He barely knew them. Leo hoped that the other demigods from the prophecy were nearby. Leo wanted to see Hazel and Frank, at least. Maybe not so much Piper and Jason, not because he didn’t love them- no, he loved them the most, but because he was ashamed and terrified at what their faces might tell him.

Calypso was met with Chiron. Chiron looked up to Leo as she whispered. Leo’s head fell against metal plating, feeling heavy, so heavy. He watched Chiron’s face go through emotions, too many, first pride and relief, and then anger and concern. He addressed the campers, and then swiftly, _everyone_ was looking at Leo, and it burned.

Leo slid off of Festus, hands in pockets as he crossed the grassy hill to the group. He recognized his cabin mates, could pick them out of Time Square really, with their grimy and sweaty faces and gnarly muscles. Nyssa, his sister, hugged him, and then came the rest of his cabin, piling on him in a heap because Leo was back.

Harley squeezed his hand and said something happily, and Leo nodded because what else could he do? He was back, except he _wasn’t_ , and he couldn’t relay that to an eight-year-old who wanted nothing but his big brother.

 _Leo, Leo, Leo, Leo_ , was all he could understand. Leo could taste the bitterness of his name reflecting off so many lips all at once. Leo was starting to panic, he felt claustrophobic, and suddenly Calypso was there at his side, and she was forcing everyone away and she held his face asking _ARE YOU OKAY? YOU ARE OKAY BABY, YOU ARE OKAY_ over and over until he calmed down and his temperature dropped and his breathing slowed.

“I’m fine,” Leo awkwardly laughed it off, and he squeezed her hand. He looked at the rest of the camp, or at least the ones who ran to see him, and grinned at them. “What’s up, Camp Half-Blood? Leo’s back, baby!”

* * *

He was ushered to the medic bay following that. A few Apollo kids pored over him with speedy light hands and poked him with mysterious sharp objects. At one point, someone, Will, Leo thought, stuck ambrosia in front of him, and with shiny white teeth in exaggerated movements, mimed eating. Leo bit into it, realized he was hungry, so hungry he’d consume anything and finished the entire bar in seconds. After that, he fell asleep, and by the time he woke up again, the foot traffic surrounding his cot slowed, and there was a bowl of soup on the table.

Leo ate the soup, eyeing the other ill campers sleeping and eating. It must’ve been dinner time. The soup was chicken-noodle, delicious comfort food that Leo inhaled. Midway through slurping, he realized there was something in his ears, and reached up. He only felt cotton and something wet dripping, and Leo quickly pulled his fingers away, scared to see that dreaded muddy gold blood again, but was relieved to only find a warmer honey color that smelled sugary.

By the time he finished the bowl, a girl with dyed green hair had come in with a lollipop in her mouth. Her eyes popped when she saw that Leo was awake. She held up a finger to him, indicating she’ll only be a second, and then she went around collecting the dishes of all the occupants of the medic bay. She disappeared through the flaps, and Leo reclined in his cot.

Something was buzzing in the medic bay. It wasn’t bothersome, in fact, it was calming. Leo couldn’t place it, but it was _good_. It reminded him of Festus and how noisy the dragon sounded against the silence of the world.

The boy in the cot across from him smirked when he caught Leo’s eyes, and even Leo could tell that the kid was a child of Hermes from the way he lazed. The guy spoke to Leo, and when Leo couldn’t respond, he got bored and starting throwing gang signs.

At his side, a blond guy with tan cargo shorts appeared. Leo recognized Will Solace. He looked nearly the same as he did last year when he led Leo around the camp, the only difference being longer hair and maybe being an inch taller.

He held a mini chalkboard. **Hi Leo.**

“Hey,” Leo sat up. He felt embarrassed that Will needed such a stupid method to communicate to him. “Can I leave? I feel fine.”

 **In a bit. How are you feeling?** Will flashed him a hesitant smile.

“Fine. I just said that I was fine.”

**Okay. Did you know that you’re supposed to be dead?**

Leo snorted. “Duh.”

**But you’re not.**

“It was the serum. Just ask any of my friends.” Leo tilted his head. He had been searching for the scrape-scrape-scrape of chalk, but only heard the vibrations. Leo zeroed in on one of the heart machines monitoring a child. _Bzzzz bump. Bzzz bump_. Like a heartbeat, but additionally, he was aware of the wirings the links to the child’s life and swirled around in the monitor.

Will shoved the chalkboard in his face to get his attention. **Can I ask you something?**

“Yeah, sure.” Leo settled back down with a heavy sigh. “What’s up?”

**Do you remember who you are?**

“Yeah. Leo Valdez, child of Hephaestus. I’m 16, and I just kicked Gaea’s butt. Next question.”

Will laughed at that, shoulders shaking as he scribbled his next question. **Good. Checking for amnesia. Do you remember your past before this year?**

Leo thought. “Um, I lived in Houston with my mom-” Will began wiping his board at that, and Leo tensed, fearing the next question. Will gestured for him to keep going as he wrote. He was a lefty. “ _Umm._ I was in a few foster homes until I got placed at Wilderness with Piper and Jason. Well, not Jason, but whatever. And then Annabeth and some buff dude brought us here. And I met you and my cabin…” He trailed off, not sure where to continue.

Will smiled. **I’m from Austin!** Leo laughed, happy with that board’s result. “I had a foster family there once. They played a lot of music.”

At that, Will scrunched up his face and began writing. **Leo… how much can you hear?**

Leo shrugged. “Nothing, really.” He failed to mention Festus and the heart monitor because that wasn’t really _hearing_ , and why would he be able to listen to that and nothing else? Unless there was something seriously wrong with him, and _gods_ does Leo not want to hear _that_. “Can’t you just throw some pixie dust and heal me?”

Will waved his right hand, saying so-so. **We’re working on that. We don’t know what’s wrong, but it looks magical. How’s your balance?**

“Fine. I can walk straight.” Leo then scowled. “What’s the point of being a demigod if the god part keeps screwing you over?”

It was a rhetorical question, but Will gave a sympathetic look and patted Leo’s shoulders. **I’m going to test your hearing. Watch out.** He leaned forward and unplugged Leo’s ears. They felt less full, and the heart monitor sounded louder, but that was about it.

 **I cleaned them. Do you want to see what I found?** Will rubbed Leo’s lymph nodes, tilting Leo’s head up. “Sure,” Leo said.

Will bent down, and from under Leo’s cot pulled out a small mason jar. It was disgusting. At seeing Leo’s face, Will put it back down and picked up the chalkboard again. **I’m keeping a small vial to look at, but you can have it.**

“Cool?” Leo almost barfed.

Will said something and swiped Leo’s ears with cold alcohol swabs. He then dropped a pair of thick headphones. Will flashed a thumbs up, asking Leo something he didn’t understand.

 **Tell me when you hear something.** **The left ear then right.**

Attached to the headphones was a small tablet. Will booted it up, and Leo lit up, hearing a hum, similar to the sounds of dial-up Internet he heard as a kid. “I hear it! I hear it!”

Will looked up with a frown, shaking his head. **I didn’t play anything yet.**

“Oh,” Leo said. “Then, nevermind.”

Will pressed something on his tablet, and Leo stared at the wall. For the next minute, Leo didn’t hear anything but that stupid dial-up. He jumped when Will moved to take the headphones off. “What the heck? Are we done?”

Will didn’t say anything and left the medic bay. Another Apollo kid came by, dropping juice boxes and marshmallows at the side of all the campers’ cots. Leo asked about Will, but the Apollo kid only shrugged and began chatting until Leo cut him off.

Ten minutes later, Will Solace came back, but he wasn’t alone. Nyssa, Chiron, Calypso, and Nico Di Angelo were with him. Will spoke to them, eyes wavering back and forth between Leo and Chiron. Nyssa’s eyes grew wider by a centimeter, and Nico analyzed him, skeptical. Calypso sat next to him in the cot, arm around Leo’s shoulder, patting his hair like a child.

Nico then moved forward, grabbing Leo’s wrist. He pressed two fingers to Leo’s wrist, then his neck, then his palms, and said something to Will, though it didn’t ease the blond’s worries. Regardless, Leo had never felt so relieved to see a fellow Argo II member, even if it was an honorary one. He’s been at camp for a few hours, and he had yet to see any of his friends.

Calypso grabbed his hand and squeezed, talking to Will and Chiron. Leo didn’t really care, his attention going towards his juice box and marshmallows. Eventually, Will brought out that dumb chalkboard again. He gave it to Nico, who rolled his eyes and hastily scribbled: **congrats, you’re not dead.**

Then the chalkboard was handed to Nyssa. Biting her lip, she glanced at Leo and then wrote something slowly. She flipped it to face Leo. **We’re going to take you back to our cabin. Can you get up?**

“Yep,” Leo stuffed his face with marshmallows and followed the group. Thankfully, they were heading out the medic bay. Calypso kept her hand in Leo’s, and they traveled out to Cabin 9. Leo blinked when he approached the cabin. Oh. It was. Okay.

It was _noisy_. Leo could hear every single puff of exhaust, the grating and frantic screams of shredding metal, the screeching turn of a nut, the slippery sliding squeals of wires scraping each other, the crackle and burst of electrical currents digging deep underground. Immediately, Leo felt woozy, but Calypso caught him.

“Where’s Festus?” Leo said panicking. It was too much, this was too much, it wasn’t like the calm breathing of his dragon, it wasn’t like the steady beating of life of some sick camper. “Festus!” Cabin 9 was _evil_. It was a monster: it breathed chaos and expelled nothing but catastrophe. Leo screamed, he frantically reached for his whistle. “Festus!”

 _LEO_ , Calypso said, but it was too late, as Festus crashed down close and spewed fire, while Leo took the distraction and hightailed to his dragon. Running up to the underbelly of Festus, Leo panted, listening to Festus’ calming life source operate.

Chiron galloped over, shouting at the startled campers, Cabins 9, 10, and 11 spilling out with pajama and knife clad-demigods. Leo’s cabin was an assortment of goggles and welding torches, while the Aphrodite cabin waved baseball bats and curling irons, as the Hermes cabin simply cheered at the mayhem.

Leo calmed down next to Festus. A couple of yards away, the monster that was Cabin 9 snarled at him, spitting out poison through sounds of grating bars and chain links.

Nyssa approached, spewing out something Leo couldn’t hear, but he assumed they were apologies. Calypso and Nico stood off to the side, while Will and Chiron argued over something.

 _I’m sorry,_ Calypso looked him in the eye. _I’m sorry_.

 **We’re going to let you sleep in the Big House.** Will’s handwriting eventually came. **Festus has to go back to the woods, though. Are you okay with that?**

“Y-Yeah,” Leo trembled. Will caught him before he fell, and Nico came to his other side. They carefully avoided Cabin 9, Leo feeling the evil nipping at his ankles until he walked far enough that his hearing returned back to silence. In the Big House, Will cleared space on a couch for him to sleep. He left Nico with the chalkboard after saying he’d be back with some stuff.

Nico tossed him a quilt and a few pillows.

“Can I ask you a few things?” Leo laid down, folding his arms behind his back. He had calmed down from his episode, but because Nico didn’t mention it- whether because he didn’t want to, or it was too much to write- Leo was forced to shove his shame down deep. “Where’s Piper and Jason?”

Nico sat on the pingpong table. **LA. I IM’d Piper, and she’s talking to Jason, so they should be here soon.**

“What about Frank and Hazel? Do you still talk to them?”

Nico deadpanned. **Why wouldn’t I talk to my sister? In New Rome. Hazel is busy, but Frank wants to come.**

“Geez, just asking,” Leo chuckled. “And Hedge?”

Nico shook his head. “I don’t know.” He spoke slow enough for Leo to understand that.

“Percy and Annabeth?” Leo turned on his side, cushioning his cheek on his two hands clapped together. The couch was hard in some places, but it was better than sleeping in his cabin’s death trap.

**Taking their SATs.**

“How much do you want to bet that Percy’s going to forget his name?”

A small laugh came from Nico’s, and Leo wished he could hear it. Nico looked a lot more healthy than he did on the Argo. Granted, Leo met him after weeks of starvation, but now Nico looked like any typical 15-year-old at summer camp. His skin glowed with a darker coloring, and his hair was no longer a greasy mess but looked healthy and shiny under the fluorescents.

“Are you okay?” Leo asked. “How are you?”

Nico seemed surprised by the question. He put the chalkboard down and shrugged. Then, a smile, and a soft nod.

“Good,” Leo said. He rolled onto his back. “Good for you.”

They sat in content silence together, until Will came back. Will dropped a few bottles next to Nico. Leo dropped the Rubik’s cube he was messing with, one he had found thrown under the couch and paid attention. Will carefully showed Leo each bottle and handed him a list of instructions. Leo scanned it, and Will asked him if he understood everything. Then, he waved Leo goodbye, grabbed Nico’s hand, and they left together.

Leo huffed and reread the instructions. Before he was going to bed, Leo was supposed to apply some ear meds to each ear for 15 minutes each, while lying on his side to keep it from spilling. It seemed tedious, but Leo found the bottle and laid on his side.

It felt warm. Leo’s ear was full as he laid. A pocket watch from his toolbelt counted down the minutes. Leo solved the Rubik’s cube and scrabbled it again. Somewhere in the Big House, there was a low hum. It reminded him of the mini-fridge his mom kept in her workshop. The little thing barely kept the items inside cold, but Leo remembered sitting by it and being lulled to sleep by the low rumble.

When he was done with the 15 minutes, he flipped to his other side. The liquid had run cold, trailing out his ear and down his neck. Wiping it away, and pouring more medicine into his other ear, Leo solved the Rubik’s cube again. He scrambled it. And solved it again.

After another boring 15 minutes, Leo sat up and wiped at his ear. He didn’t feel different.

Maybe it was slow-acting, Leo thought, turning off the lights. He hoped it was.

* * *

Two days later, Leo was tired of the tests. He didn’t follow the cabin schedule of Cabin 9 during the day but instead wandered the campgrounds. Someone always trailed behind him, whether it was Calypso; Nyssa, or Will when they weren’t dealing with their respective cabins; or Nico. Leo appreciated Nico the most, because when he was with Nico, the guy didn’t act all sorry for him, and he was okay with listening to Leo prattle on without needing to respond. Leo made him flashcards with basic responses anyway, so they didn’t need to pull out that demeaning chalkboard again.

It was after lunch, on the 12th, that Leo was re-introduced to Harley. When Chiron encouraged Harley forward, the 8-year-old hesitantly stepped forward, wringing his hands together. Leo shook his head, looking up from his mini-date with Calypso, and smiled sheepishly at Chiron.

“But I know Harley…?”

Chiron nodded, and rested his hand on Harley’s shoulder, nudging him forward. Harley flushed and then made strange jerking movements with his hands. Leo frowned. And then it registered because he could recognize the language that was ASL, but he didn’t understand it, so it was as foreign to him as Russian.

“Hello,” Harley waved. He then made an L with his thumb and index finger, switching to an awkward-almost fist, and then an O with his fingers and thumb.

After a beat, Leo said: “Oh.”

The next day, Jason Grace and Piper McLean came.

He was returning from the communal bathrooms when he saw the two combing through the grounds frantically. Jason must’ve been shouting his name, by the way his mouth was askew. Leo’s stuff dropped, the moment Piper’s eyes fell on him, she tugged Jason’s jacket sleeve, and then all three were running and then colliding.

Piper shook in his arms, as well did Jason and they smelled like home. Piper pulled back, tears in her eyes, and said, _Leo_ and then something else. Jason was still wrapping him in a hug, until Leo eventually pushed him off with a “ _Dude, cry on someone else_ ,” except he totally didn’t mean that because he was crying too, and they were all sniveling.

Jason was trying to say something, but Leo shushed them both with his fingers. He picked up his stuff and tucked it under his armpit, and then with both hands, led them both across the camp towards the Strawberry Fields. They passed by Nico and Will, who both waved, and when Calypso spotted Leo, she reached out, thought better of it, and then ducked away.

Piper looked around, breathless and confused. She asked a question, Leo guessed it to be _Why are we here?_ From bewilderment and catching parts of the lip movements.

He sat them down together and sat opposite them. Going through his stuff, he handed Jason Nico’s flashcards and gave Piper the chalkboard. Sitting in the dirt, Leo shook his head at them and then explained.

Piper nearly started crying again. Jason was troubled, and his posture changed. Jason held up a card: WHY?

“I don’t know.”

THAT SUCKS. Jason waved the card and then grabbed the chalkboard from Piper’s shaking hands. **That’s awful. I’m sorry. You don’t deserve that.**

At Jason’s looping cursive, Leo rubbed at his eyes. “Some people might argue differently. It’s fine, though. I’m still me.”

Piper took the board, **Are you okay?**

“Yeah.” Leo’s knees came up, and he wrapped his arms around them. “Calypso and Nico are helpful. I think Will’s my doctor now?”

Jason nodded at that, and Piper wiped the slate clean. **How long will it last?**

Leo pointed to one of Jason’s discarded cards. I DON’T KNOW.

Jason spoke, and then apologized, and wrote on the chalkboard. **What can we do?**

Leo pointed again. I DON’T KNOW.

Piper scribbled, **I’m sorry** , and then hugged Leo again. Jason collected up the cards and shuffled through them. He questioningly held up the card that read, DON’T GIVE ME ATTITUDE, LEO.

Leo waved it off, and Piper laughed a little. She picked up the board again. **What happened after you died? We looked everywhere for you.**

“So I’ve heard,” Leo said. He picked at a piece of grass that stuck to his sweatpants. “Do you want the whole story?”

YES, Jason aggressively flapped the card at Leo. He smiled when Leo smiled, and dropped the card, sitting at Leo’s side. Piper sat at his other side.

Leo told them what happened, starting with Gaea and ending with the morning. Jason listened patiently, his muscles relaxing the more Leo talked. Piper watched Leo as she listened, and he tried to ignore her stare on his lips and face as he enunciated. Her eyes wandered to Jason sadly, and then back to Leo throughout the tale, though she was entertained with hearing about Leo’s romance with Calypso. Before long, Leo realized it was nearing time for dinner, and the trio gathered their stuff to return back to the hearth of the camp.

They sat at Jason’s lone table, ignoring camp rules, and Leo wanted to hear, desperately, about them but didn’t want them to write their story on some crappy board for him. He instead played Hangman with them as they ate, happily calling out letters, and embracing their smiles and looks.

Around the campfire, Piper was whisked to her cabin, with Drew reaching for Piper’s chopped hair with long nails and a dramatic look. Leo and Jason stayed together on the side of the fire. Jason motioned toward Leo’s cabin, but Leo shook his head. He had been avoiding them after the Cabin 9 incident. Both Cabin 9 and the forges were excruciatingly unbearable for him, at those happen to be where the Hephaestus kids frequented the most. He wondered how messed up that was, that the two places that should’ve been homes for him were seen as sadistically horrific demons.

“How are you, Jason?” Leo questioned his best friend.

**Good, now that you’re back.**

“Aw, man,” Leo playfully bumped his shoulder against Jason’s. “You sure know how to make a dude blush. How’s LA?”

**Fine. I’m in boarding school.**

“No way. That’s hilarious. Why couldn’t you have been in boarding school when you were supposed to be? Does Piper go there too?”

 **No.** That answer was quick and angry.

“Okay…,” Leo changed the subject. “So now I’m learning Sign Language from a kid. Gotta be honest- maybe everyone else should just learn Morse Code.”

 **Maybe** **:)** Jason bumped Leo’s shoulder back.

“Is Piper okay? She seems different,” Leo started. He flickered to Piper, who was talking with one of her smaller sisters, as Drew tapped her foot impatiently. Jason’s eyes trailed Piper but then fell to Leo. He touched the board again, which was still reading **Maybe :)**.

Leo patted Jason’s back. “We’ll work on your girlfriend skills tomorrow. Have I shown you Calypso?” He pointed across the fire pit by the Demeter children, where Calypso was singing. “She’s hot, don’t you think? She used to be a Titan… not so much anymore.”

 **Congrats.** Jason then excused himself for the bathroom and left Leo alone. Leo didn’t know what they were singing, but everyone was having fun. He wasn’t really. He was alone, and he could _see_ all the joy and happiness, but it felt out of touch and too far like he could never really embrace it again. Leo shouldn’t have taken those campfire nights for granted last year.

Wordlessly, tears ran down Leo’s face, but he didn’t understand why he was crying or when he started. He felt like someone scooped out some part of Leo and burned in that heavenly fire, allowing part of him to smell like roasted marshmallows and dripping chocolate. Leo tugged on his leather necklace, the single bead on it feeling heavy. Nico tossed it at him the other day. Last year’s bead had been half painted purple and half painted orange. There was something written in gold on it, but Leo never asked, and Nico never offered. Besides the bead, Festus’ whistle sat.

Leo didn’t belong, and it was worse than it had been last year. At least last year, Nemesis acknowledged it. This year he was given unwanted pity and cautious looks. Gods, did it _suck_.

Leo wandered from the campfire and towards the woods. He stumbled past the dark branches into the cold thick of trees, careful about slipping. He swears someone pushes him, and maybe someone did.

Blind and deaf through the foliage, Leo finally comes to Bunker 9. Festus is sleeping, guarding the entrance with a heavy and spiked tail. Leo bristled and hurried toward his dragon. He pet Festus, then opened the Bunker with his fire.

The massive Bunker was alive with energy. Leo stretched his hands against the stone and felt the hidden vibrations of unused coils and metal piping practically bursting from the walls. It extended further underground than Leo thought, as his world had been lit up with a melodic whistle of old Celestial Bronze and the burning of lightbulbs. Festus had followed Leo inside and folded up in the hangar. Leo felt like Hephaestus himself.

Bunker 9 made sense the same way Festus did, and Cabin 9 violently protested against. Something about it was beyond comfortable, leaning into an extension of Leo’s being. He rolled out his old sleeping bag, coughing at the dust, and settled it by Festus. He closed his eyes, but he couldn’t fall asleep.

He tried really hard too. Maybe Bunker 9 was too alive for him. Festus released a burst of steam from between his scales, and Leo nodded. “I know. I’m going to have to go back, bud.” Festus’ lights blinked at Leo in understanding. “Yeah, me too. I love you.” With a forehead touch and a hug, Leo left the Bunker with a heavy heart.

He followed Will’s directions with the meds and went to sleep easily.

When Leo woke up, Jason and Piper were sleeping on the ping pong table. Leo's discarded chalkboard lay on the floor, smudged writing in Jason's loopy letter asking **Why'd you leav-** , the rest in dust.

Leo stretched to the sky and dropped his blanket on top of them. They were facing away from each other, Piper's short hair tangled with the cords from Jason's sweatshirt.

Leo tried signing to them. His knuckles together, thumbs in at his chest, then his hands flicked outward, and he pointed at the back of Piper's head. "How are you?" he had clumsily asked.

ASL was harder than he thought. There was so much that went into it, and half of the signs was intuitive and painfully obvious while the others didn't feel natural to him in the slightest. Leo was usually good at picking stuff up, but he was awful at this.

Sign language was just so… so _human._ It wasn't merely his hands, but his face, his emotions, his energy, his speed, his everything. Morse Code was perturbingly aloof, and that felt alarmingly natural. He was scared to admit it, but if he hadn't learned Spanish and English as a baby, the languages would've felt as unnatural as ASL.

He was a robot in human skin sometimes. Like he was pretending to be something he wasn't. Leo was putting all this effort into his friends, into his work, into his life, and for what? He only ever turns out worse than he started.

Will knocked on the door. He held up the familiar headphones and tablet. "Good morning," Will signed. He took up learning some phrases to better communicate with his "patient."

"Let's just get it over with," Leo grabbed the headphones and slipped them on.

Will beamed at him and booted up the system as Leo stared up at the ceiling. Five minutes later, Will finished his check-up and left. It was the same as it had been for the past few days. Inactive, incurable, inoperable.

Jason was sitting up and staring at Leo when Will closed the door. He had woken up midway through because Will had started humming. Leo learned the sign for 'rock' and 'music' because he found out that Nico Di Angelo was dating Will Solace, and Will Solace liked old school rock because he was cool, while Nico Di Angelo liked old jazz because he's ancient, and somehow that met in the middle. Leo was forced to guess as to what Will's singing sounded like, but according to Nico, his voice was raw and raspy. Leo had forgotten what Will (and Nico) sounded like anyway, so he nodded and changed the subject.

Jason rubbed the sleep out of his face, draped the rest of the blanket on Piper, and padded toward Leo.

"'Morning," Leo said, signing along. He needed to get more into the habit of that. Jason mouthed, _Good Morning_ , and they sat, huddled in silence until Piper woke up an hour later.

* * *

"What's wrong?" Leo asked Calypso. They sat in the grass by the Climbing Wall, watching the Iris and Hecate kids triumph and fail.

She squeezed his hand and shook her head. A girl passed by and waved to Calypso, and she greeted her back. Someone on the wall suddenly dropped, suspended only by his foot being caught in a rope.

"It's not your fault," Leo found himself saying again. "I went back for you, and I knew it was dangerous."

Leo knew Calypso was slipping. He should've known better last year. _He_ of all people could never keep the interest of a girl like her. Calypso had always been someone who fell in and out of love quickly- she had told him that when they met.

"I'm not Ogygia," Leo mumbled and pecked her lips. Calypso didn't understand, but before she could reach for the chalkboard, an animated Demeter boy shoved gardening tools at Calypso, and the goddess was all bright smiles as she launched into a fast-paced conversation away from Leo.

* * *

"'Can I borrow him?'" Harley repeated to Leo.

"No. Leave. Bye, JASO-" Leo stopped. He forgot the sign for N. Harley giggled anyway because he got it nevertheless, and he gazed up at Jason to probably tell him what Leo was trying to say.

Jason rolled his eyes and whispered to Harley again. Harley mocked Jason, who mocked him back, and in a huff, Harley told Leo, "He wants to eat lunch with friends."

"No school? Yes, please," Leo snickered at Harley's pout. He patted the kids head and with one hand, said, "Thank you," and then with two hands, "Good job."

 **I've been practicing something** , Jason held up the board for Leo once they got away.

"What?"

Jason squatted in the grass and motioned for Leo to do the same. He grabbed a fistful of grass and nodded at Leo to keep him watching. Leo stared.

Then Jason blew, and the grass bits he had yanked spun around until it formed: **LOOK!**

Leo was impressed. "The dryads are going to kill you' Lacking the word for _dryad_ , Leo just signed 'women' instead, and then he burst out laughing.

Jason laughed too (he probably didn't get it) and waved away the grass. They strolled the pavilion where Piper and some of her siblings sat at the Aphrodite table waiting, food on their plates.

"Hey," Leo sat across from Piper. A few days ago, she had left camp and camp back with the newest iPhone, the 4S, without service or any way to communicate. She used the voice-to-type, which was much faster than writing, and felt less patronizing.

By now, Leo could understand the gist of what everyone was saying anyway. He could piece certain words if he tried hard to read lips, and he got better at reading excitement. In that way, Leo felt overtly human.

 **Coach Hedge and Mellie IMed me earlier today. They said when the weather gets warmer they'll meet you. The baby is sick.** Piper's phone sat in the middle so any of them can talk.

Drew snatched up the phone. **Ur hair is ugly come over 2morrow and we will fix it 4 limited time offer 💇♀️**

He touched his hair, the length was long enough to put up. Leo shrugged. He probably won't go. He wanted to avoid Cabin 9, and by proxy, Cabin 10.

Piper went to talk about her life in LA, and how she and her dad lived for the past few months. Leo picked at his food.

Jason nudged him. **Annabeth and Percy are coming. Winter break is next week.**

"What is today?"

Jason raised one finger and then nine. So the 19th. Leo's been at Camp Half-Blood for about 9 days, and Jason and Piper have been here for about 6. He wondered when they were going to leave.

It wasn't an if. Leo knew they were leaving because everyone did. Leo was impressed with New Rome because of it- the Californian safety hub was permanent and sustainable. It was made for longevity. In comparison, Camp Half-Blood was a pit stop for most of the campers. Demigods came during the summer, and the rest stayed until they aged out.

Besides, Piper and Jason had lives. Piper always had LA and her father. Jason was in boarding school now, but he could always go back to the Romans.

Nyssa was going to college next year. She only stayed because there was no one else; because Jake was in college now, and Leo had died. Nico shadow traveled away as he pleased, and Leo could tell by the growing antsiness in Will that he wanted to leave too.

But Leo didn't have anywhere to go. He planned to travel the world with Calypso, but that was falling apart.

Jason tapped his shoulder. Leo shrugged him off. He pulled out some paperclips from his toolbelt, fiddling with it as Piper carried on.

About thirty seconds later, he had a familiar pipe cleaner and paperclip helicopter. Jason held out his hand, and Leo dropped it carefully in his palm. Shakily, the helicopter's turbine began to spin until it launched off in the air. In Leo's ears came the soft whispered of a rustle, almost like a feather tickling his eardrum. He wondered what everyone else heard.

The helicopter nosedived into someone's chili. Calypso was at that table. She waved to Leo. He didn't wave back. _She was leaving_ , he thought. He just knew it.

* * *

By the time the 23rd rolled around, Leo needed to find somewhere else to sleep. He figured that out a few days ago, but after getting knocked by Chiron's horse butt for the fourth time, Leo began to scout out locations.

He wanted to stay at least 2 cabins away from the Monster Cabin, but that severely cut down his options.

From what's he's understood, Calypso had been sleeping in Artemis' cabin, which generally held Hunters. But Calypso was a goddess, even with her lack of powers, and she held a grudge against most of the gods. Calypso might not like her twin brother, but Artemis had always opened her arms to a girl in need.

Anyway, Leo's met Artemis, and he didn't even have to question it to know that Cabin 8 was _not_ an option for him.

The Hermes cabin would be the safest bet because their crowded cabin was always open. Except it was next door to the Beast, so Leo refused. Piper's cabin was canceled out for the same reason, though he doubted he'd fit in much there.

Leo considered Nico's cabin before Jason's. Cabin 13 was private and gorgeous in design. Plus, Nico wasn't as nosy as Jason, nor was he there much anyway, due to cycling between Camp Jupiter and Cabin 7. Then, Jason moped around for half the morning until Leo begrudgingly dragged his stuff out of the Hades cabin and moved into Cabin 1.

Leo was disturbed by how unfriendly the cabin was. At least Nico had decorated the inside of Cabin 13, a mixture of his junk and Hazel's. Cabin 1 was all hard stone and dusty bunks. Jason didn't even sleep in a bed- he slept in a worn sleeping bag in the corner where he threw his stuff.

Jason prepared a bunk for Leo, though. He told Leo he had always planned on sleeping on the top bunk anyway, so it could be like they were roommates again. Leo dryly said to him that Wilderness didn't have a creepy ass statue of the King of Gods. Jason threw a blanket over Zeus's enormous face.

Calypso came over to check up on him after Jason whirled out, hurt because Leo complained about a draft despite it not being Jason's fault at all.

She brought flowers with her to brighten up the place. Then, after careful placement around Zeus' pedestal and Leo's bunk, and after she glared at Zeus' feet, she hopped in the bunk with him.

Leo's fingers were locked with Calypso as she pressed him into the thin mattress. Her hair was tied back, tickling his cheek as she whispered in his ear. Leo could only feel her heated breath. He kissed her neck softly, his free hand sliding up and down her waist.

Calypso kissed him, eyes wet, mouth soft. Her hand squeezed Leo's like she was dying, and her other hand trailed at his chest.

Leo tried to sit up. "Cal-" She shook her head, sitting on his stomach and kissed him again. She grabbed Leo's free hand and pushed it under his shirt. His fingers traced the cotton cups until his palm uncertainly pressed against hot skin, skin hotter than any flame he could conjure.

Calypso used her own free hand to hike up her skirt. Leo groaned against her. Through her panties, she was so warm. "Calypso."

She kissed his cheek.

"Calypso-"

She kissed his nose.

" _Cals."_

She kissed his lips.

Leo wanted her. He did, he really did, and he could feel it, and she definitely could feel with the way she grinded against him, but Leo didn't understand. Weren't they falling apart? Wasn't she leaving? He didn't understand.

Calypso rocked her hips against him and lifted her hips to reach under and slip Leo's sweatpants down. He wiggled with her for a smoother transition and moaned when her hot, very hot, too hot hand touched his skin. One hand gripped hers tightly, and the other held her waist, while Calypso sank down with her face scrunched and then an open-mouthed moan. She stopped.

Leo sat up and kissed her with his everything. She was burning him because she was heated, she was blisteringly human. Sultry came to mind.

 _I love you,_ Calypso mouthed. He wished she said it a different way, someway he couldn't misunderstand, someway he could hear her beautiful voice that he had forgotten.

Leo held up a fist, raised his pinky and index finger, thumb extending. Calypso's eyes were closed as she rocked her hips. Chest burning, Leo's head fell into her neck, eyes screwed tight.

He didn't know where to put his hand. The one that was occupied tightly gripped Calypso's as she used it for balance, but her other hand was touching herself. Leo's empty hand was grossly sweaty and hesitantly fell to the back of her thigh, where her skirt crumpled over his knuckles.

He kept that hand there for a long time. He kept that hand there when Calypso had shuddered against him, when he trembled against her, when she whimpered _I love you_ again, when he mewled nothing back because he was melting, when she wiped his sweaty face, when he grew sore because she was getting heavy and he was sensitive, when she kissed him desperately because maybe she was melting too.

When Leo woke up, Calypso was still sleeping. He stared up at the crossing wood that held up the top bunk. His finger railed Calypso's arm as he thought.

Unsteadily, Leo's feet touched the cold floor as he peeked at the upper bed. Jason snoozed with his face smushed across the pillow. Leo smiled, remembering how Jason used to snore.

He stepped out of the cabin into the early morning. The moon was still up. Leo tiptoed along the cabins, careful of waking anyone until his ears began to scream, and his head pounded.

The Beast. Leo gazed up at the whining metal trap that bellowed with agony. The lights were off in the cabin, but smoke blew from the chimney. In the morning, when the breeze caressed Leo's face and the grass swayed, the Monster Cabin was quieter. It was slumbering.

Leo shook, grabbing his whistle. He could call for Festus. He could blow as hard he could, could scream, could cry.

Leo, instead, reached out. His quivering fingertips met with chilled metal. He exhaled.

Slowly, Leo's forehead met with the door. His ears crackled with life, but it changed. He felt the Hephaestus Cabin as a being, a living, pulsing machine that reverberated with excitement and electricity. Leo could've cried.

He thinks he understood.

Piper found him sitting against the door a few hours later as she passed by. She panicked and rushed to his side, seeing if he was okay. Leo grinned at her. He was fine.

She uneasily glanced at Cabin 9 but helped Leo to his feet. Leo hugged her, and they walked toward Cabin 7 together, arms linked. Leo had his toolbelt on but didn't have his chalkboard with him.

"Good morning," Will said. They sat on his bunk as he looked for the usual check-up stuff. Piper and Will held a conversation that Leo couldn't get too into with the limited signing and the lack of writing. From the window, he could see the woods, where he knew Bunker 9 was hidden, and Festus was presumably getting lonely.

Will handed him a notepad. **I looked at the stuff that was in your ears.**

Leo mimed vomiting. He'd only looked at the disgusting jar once and hid it out of sight by wrapping it with a camp shirt. Will had kept some of it, hadn't he? Gross.

Will tapped the pen at the second message. **Most of it was dirt and blood. Calypso got most of it though. There was some shrapnel that we had taken out that went so far as your Eustachian tube. The dirt pierced through your eardrum and middle ear.**

Will then showed him and Piper a copy of a diagram with silly cutesy monsters pointing out an ear's anatomy. From what Leo got, Will was saying the crap went _deep_ in his ears during the explosion.

While they looked at the diagram, Will was finishing up on another page. **Normally, that shouldn't be possible. Chiron believes it's because of Gaea. That's where the dirt came from, despite you being so high in the air. The shrapnel came from one of the battles or the cannonball. Do you remember?**

"Vaguely," Leo rubbed his delicate ears.

Piper and Will debated over something as he wrote. She yelled something loud, waking some of the other Apollo children. Will handed Leo the notepad and went to usher out his nosy siblings.

**I've been looking into your ear for the past few days. Your eardrum has been repairing itself but it's not the original flesh.**

Will sighed once he got the door shut. Piper peeked into his ear. Will pushed her away and then handed her the otoscope. The tip was cool.

After a good second, Piper leaned back and looked questioningly at Leo. _Why is it_ \- he lost the rest of the question. Will answered her, flashing Leo, "wait." Piper didn't look to be satisfied with the answer but handed back the otoscope.

Will wrote: **Are you sure you're okay? You can't hear anything?**

"No," Leo was growing uncomfortable.

**Then I'll see you tomorrow. We're going to see if some different medicine would help. Sorry, I can't do more.**

"Mhm," Leo stood up. There wasn't anything else he could do.

* * *

It was very surprising, but Annabeth gave him a hug. Then she punched his shoulder.

"You're stupid," She scowled. Someone must've told her about Leo's deafness beforehand. He wondered who was IMing her because it sure as hell wasn't him.

"Hey," Percy nodded at him and then gave him a pat on the back. He struggled to make some awkward hand motions, but Harley translated it to something close to "Good to see you."

Both of the elder demigods were coated in snow. Annabeth handed him a gift bag and peeled off her coat. Inside the bag was a new copy of Mario Kart 7 with a broken 3DS. Leo could fix it up in minutes, and Annabeth and Percy knew it.

The seven of the prophecy, or rather five, met in Jason and Leo's shared cabin. Leo and Piper had come back from Will's to find Jason chatting with Annabeth and Percy peering up at the blanket on Zeus' head. Harley had dropped by to teach Leo some more, but Leo knew otherwise, based on all of Harley's staring. He was really to see the guy who saved the world twice. Calypso must've left already.

"How are you?" Annabeth asked.

"Good. You?"

She smiled. "Tired. School is boring." She looked at Harley for confirmation, and he nodded happily.

"Leo's getting good now," Harley praised. "Fingerspell if you're stuck."

"Thank you," Annabeth turned back to Leo. "Frank and Hazel will be here tomorrow. Hazel has a lot of work to do."

"Work?"

"She is," Annabeth began to slow down, "Praetor."

"No way!" Leo looked around the cabin. "Did you guys know that?" Harley pinched him because he stopped signing.

YES. Percy held up a Nico flashcard. Jason nodded, and Piper at least seemed apologetic for keeping Leo out of the loop.

"She will be happy to see you," Annabeth reassured him. "Frank was going to come last week, but the news came with work."

"Love to see that big guy. How's San Francisco?"

Annabeth went to talk about her step-family, how she had an academic rival and her first time going to public school in ten years. She then went into Percy's life and how he was adapting from being behind the lines to sitting in class (news flash: he wasn't, and neither was she), as well as his pregnant mom and friendly step-father.

As far as Leo was aware, he might be the only one in the seven without family. Annabeth had her step-family even if she didn't like them, plus she had essentially been raised at Camp Half-Blood. Percy had his mom and now a dad plus his one-eyed sibling. Piper had her dad, and Hazel had Nico. He didn't know much about Frank, but he assumed the guy fit in at Camp Jupiter. Jason had Thalia, even if they didn't talk often.

Leo's own cabin avoided him, except Harley and Nyssa. They were still uneasy about the fire, while him freaking out by the Monster Cabin and Forges wasn't helping him either.

"Hey, Leo," Piper sat next to him on the bunk. He didn't know she picked up the signing. Her arm wrapped around his shoulders. In her other hand was a piece of paper. **I missed you.**

"Yeah," Leo murmured. "Me too."

* * *

Leo was in a familiar workshop. He felt the sweltering heat and heard the whistle of steam being let out. There was something else too… was that a TV? Leo glanced around at the toys and wobbled in his chair. Above him was a giant flat-screen showing a reality TV show. _The Real Housewives of the Elysium_ , read the title, a catchy song playing loudly.

Beyond that, the machines surrounding Leo screamed for his attention, causing him to wince.

Hephaestus turned to see him. “Leo.”

Leo’s jaw dropped. “W-What’s going on? That’s- I can- I can _hear_ you!” It was fuzzy, but sure enough, Leo could hear his father. He could even hear himself! It was like listening through cotton, but Leo didn’t care. It was proof of _something_.

Hephaestus didn’t move from the shadows and tossed Leo a remote. There was a mute, volume up and down, and channel up and down buttons. “Try this.”

Leo lowered the volume, expecting the shrieking girls on TV to go quiet, and they did, except _so did everything else_. Leo turned up the volume until his head howled from the noise. Setting it to a more appropriate volume, Leo tried the channel buttons. Going up and down was like changing frequencies. Some things filtered, and others didn’t. Leo went back, searching for his dad’s heavy breathing. It _was_ fuzzy, but it was the best Leo could hope for.

“What’s going on?” Leo turned the remote over in his hands. Holding it next to his ear, it was forebodingly silent. “I don’t understand.”

Hephaestus cleared his throat, a gnarled and strangled noise. "I, um, helped you."

"Well, _yeah!_ " Leo whooped. "I got my hearing back. Fuck yeah!"

A loud clang rattled through the workshop. A hunk of metal rolled from the shadows by a miter saw. "You didn't get your hearing back. It's only here."

That sucked. Hephaestus wasn't the one who Leo wanted to hear. Leo sucked his teeth. "What do you want now, Daddy-o? Is this the annual Christmas visit I get now? I deserve alimony."

In the corner of a worktable was the same bronze mirror that he saw last time. The image shared Leo sleeping in his bunk. Leo hopped on a cleared bench. "Your radio-dream system is a lot better."

"Yes," Hephaestus sounded embarrassed. "I have worked on it for some time. I wasn't allowed to reach Ogygia."

"I've been at Camp for a week."

"I was busy, boy." Hephaestus scratched his beard with the tip of a flat head screwdriver. "How are the eardrums?"

"Dr. Solace said they were good," Leo began. "Wait- that was _you_?"

"I thought it would help you, er, _adjust._ " Hephaestus avoided his eyes. His hands were occupied with something small and colorful. Leo's hearing flickered like static.

"You're not allowed to mess with my body like that," Leo snapped. "Your dumb eardrums don't even work."

"They don't?" Hephaestus cautiously came close like Leo was going to lash out him. Leo remembered that attitude last time. For such a big and bulky guy, he was still scared of someone as weak as Leo. It didn't help that Leo was rude.

He relaxed and let his father approach. Hephaestus had leather heat resistant gloves on as he roughly grabbed Leo's face and peered into his ear canal with a thin pointer-like steel pole. It was light in Leo's ear despite Hephaestus' aggressive handling and giant hands. After a few seconds of digging, the blacksmith god grunted and flicked something. The pole vibrated, and Leo gasped from the sudden change. It sounded like bells.

Hephaestus turned it off and stepped back. "They work."

"Yeah, I see, thanks for that," Leo massaged his ear. "So can I hear in my normal body now or what?"

"Um. Not that." Hephaestus almost _squirmed_. He was very uncomfortable. Leo slid away from him on the bench to give his father some space. Hephaestus looked like he appreciated that. Back in his hand, was the colorful object he fiddled with earlier. "I am not my brother, and he's mortal-" he started again. "I helped with what made sense to me."

" _People_ don't make sense to you. I am _people!_ " Leo gestured crazily at his body. "You can't do an oil check on your kids."

Hephaestus dropped the object in his hand. It was Leo's little paperclip and pipe cleaner helicopter. He added firmer landing skids, tighter-knit the body of the pipe cleaners, and installed plastic windows.

"I appreciate the help," Leo tried, calmly this time. "But what did you help with exactly?"

"I thought it was obvious with the dragon," Hephaestus said. He stood up, towering over Leo and hobbled to a deeper part of the workshop. Leo leaned over to grab the helicopter. It was tidy work. Hephaestus put a lot of consideration into something Leo came up within three minutes. Experimentally, Leo flicked the blades and was surprised to see the helicopter pick up wind on its own. It blared like a real helicopter too.

Hephaestus rapped Leo's knee with his cane. "Boy." In his gloved hands were simple neon orange earplugs.

Leo took them, squishing the plugs. They felt like the regular foam material. Hephaestus gestured at his ears, and Leo reluctantly slipped the plugs in.

"Uh," Leo could still hear Hephaestus' labored breathing and the girls on TV giggling in their pool of damned souls. "These don't work. I hope you kept your receipt."

Hephaestus let out a ragged breath and grumbled to himself about ungrateful children. Leo rolled his eyes and spun the helicopter blades. It quietly spun up to the ceiling.

He frowned. He peeled out one of the earplugs. The helicopters' engine blasted at him. Leo put in the earplug. The aircraft was quiet.

"Leo!" Someone called out his name, a male, juvenile, and friendly. He knew that voice at some point, Leo thought.

Hephaestus turned. He kicked the fallen helicopter with his cane. "Your dream is being interfered with. Take this and the plugs. There's a box by your foot."

By his bare foot, there was a medium-sized Amazon Prime package. Its standard black shapes were coated in a shimmery iridescent lacquer. "Pretty," Leo remarked. The box closed itself and made a pop! sound like a bubble as it disappeared. Leo looked at Hephaestus, questioningly.

"A collaboration between Hermes, Iris, and myself," Hephaestus said. Leo's visuals began to streak like someone dumped water on the world.

"My hearing… is it permanent?" Leo asked before his father could totally blur out.

Hephaestus made a rumbling noise. "I already told you when we first met. Along the way, you're going to lose some friends and some valuable tools. Nothing lasts forever, not even my favorite machines. It's not your fault."

"I'm not a machine," Leo reminded him, and then his dream flickered out.

Leo woke up to Jason, violently shaking him. "Wha-?"

Jason blurted something, but it didn't register. Leo sighed. His hearing really was for that one dream.

"Dude, what's going on," Leo yawned, holding Jason back at arm's length Jason flushed, recognizing his mistake. Outside the bunk, Annabeth and Piper stood whispering. Piper looked guilty, while Annabeth held a neutral face.

"Good morning, Leo," Annabeth said slowly, carefully, maybe too much so.

"What's going on?" Leo looked around, "Where's Percy?"

"Away. Looking."

Beside him, Jason argued with Piper over something. Piper's eyes narrowed, and she exhaled before stepping out of the cabin. Jason chased after her.

"What was that?" Leo asked. "What happened?"

"Leo," Annabeth hesitated. "Calypso's missing."

"Gone?" Leo fumbled with the sign. He didn't understand. "What?"

“No. M-I-S-S-I-N-G.”

Leo dropped his hands entirely. “ _Gone?_ ”

“I’m sorry,” Annabeth squeezed his shoulder and left him alone in the cabin. A wind swept through the cabin, blowing the flowers.

Leo stood up. His legs were unsteady, shaking at the knees, buckling at his ankles. His fingers reached for his tool belt, but it felt heavy. He grabbed his army jacket, the one Calypso remade, and zipped it up. Outside, the camp was warm for December. He vaguely remembered someone explaining to him the reason why but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

Somehow, someway, Leo found himself back at Bunker 9. Hephaestus’ Amazon Prime box sat outside the rocks. Leo dug into the cardboard with trembling hands.

“Hey, buddy,” Leo mumbled, when he saw Festus. Festus’ eyes lazily slid open, and he spread his right wing.

“No, no, you’re right,” Leo said. “But I’ll be fine.” He stumbled close, his head pressed against Festus’ head. The dragon creaked and whined at him. With the earplugs, Festus and the rest of the bunker was startlingly quiet. Leo didn’t want that. He put them in his pocket and collapsed in one of Festus’ front claws.

The dragon exuded heat. Leo listened to Festus’ driver click and turn like a heartbeat. Looking up at the bunker’s ribbed metal ceiling and iron catwalks, Leo was blinded by the burning orange sodium lights.

He reached up with his hands to cover the light. His right hand cupped into a C, then flicked to a fist with his thumb to the side, then an L with his index finger and thumb, then his index finger dropped as his pinky went up, then his hand dipped with his ring finger and pinky closed and his index up while his thumb brushed against his out middle finger, then made a fist, then closed his fingers into an O. He dropped his arms over his eyes, disgusted.

Leo ran away six times. He knew the difference between missing and gone.

Calypso was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter is jason and is very short (thankfully) and will be posted within the week. aw yup
> 
> I SWEAR THERE WILL BE VALGRACE, you guys already know this about me, so I assume you trust me to deliver


	2. JASON

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some thoughts from Jason.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **EDIT: i accidentally uploaded this as i was editing lol. the full chapter is now up XD**
> 
> seriously thinking about adding solangelo to the relationships tags for clout which is one, lmaoooo, but also two, a lil messed up cause i'd be sad if I clicked on a valgrace fic and it was barely there. you solangelo lovers are lucky i spared you :(
> 
> On an actual serious tone, here are some notes before you continue:  
> 1) I _was_ going to publish when I said I was. I'm pretty loose with deadlines, but that I had under control. And then I reread what was then barely a 2k chapter, deleted and rearranged a few scenes, and then started adding more, resulting is this thicc boi of 12k AGAIN. I don't enjoy writing 10k chapters because they're unbearably hard to edit and gain control of but I guess this fic doesn't care.
> 
> 2) I messed up a few of my dates. Since this fic is in the timeline of canon, it takes place in Dec 2010/Jan 2011, and I messed up a few things. Uh, namely the fact that the 3DS and MarioKart 7 both came out in 2011. I believe the other references are insignificant or good? Also I messed up with my calendar days cause I deadass forgot how to count LMAO, but don't worry

“I’m not telling him for you,” Jason repeated. He was steadfast in his position.

Piper snapped close her suitcase. “I didn’t ask you to.”

“But it’s not fair if you _don’t_ tell Leo.”

“Then you tell him. You know you want to.”

“No,” Jason said. “It’s not my job.”

“See? Not so easy.” Piper dropped on her bunk, breathless. “Well that’s the last of it. I’ll tell Leo tomorrow.”

Jason continued pacing the Venus cabin. It was empty because Piper sent them away to do laundry, and Drew relished in the lapse of control so she could boss their siblings around again for half an hour. Usually, Piper would’ve chastised her sister, but the suitcase declared otherwise.

“Tomorrow’s New Year’s Eve,” Jason reminded her. “If you’re going to leave camp, at least do it after that. I’ll take you to the airport myself.”

Piper watched him pace from her mass of fluffy purple bed sheets. “Hedge is picking me up. He’s in Greenwich right now.”

“I thought you said he was in LA.”

“He _was_ , but then he wanted to visit family for the holidays.” Piper sighed. “It’s some kind of satyr holiday. Like, um, _Hanukkah_ , but with more aluminum foil.”

Jason slid to the floor against Piper’s bunk. Her legs swayed by his head. “Is he going to visit at least? Drop by and check on me and Leo?”

“He’s our protector,” Piper said as if it was obvious. She sat up, scooching forward to sit on the edge of the bed. “Of course, he will. You can see Mellie and Chuck too.”

Jason hadn’t seen them in about a month now. The last time he saw them, Piper and Jason had just broken up, and Hedge had honked the minivan horn to pick up Piper from Jason’s campus, with Chuck playing with a dinosaur toy in the back row. Since then, he only called the McLean residence once to pick up some leftover clothes, which was delivered to his dorm three days later.

Then, two weeks ago, Jason came back to his room from the dining hall, and Piper was sitting on her suitcase in front of the East dormitory. It only took two words- _Leo’s back_ \- and Jason called Tempest forth, but Piper told him that Hazel was also having her swearing-in so they should go to that first, plus she already booked airline tickets for a few days later. Jason didn’t understand why Piper wasn’t rushing to see their best friend like he was, but now Jason knew. Piper was planning on leaving anyway.

“I don’t see why you have to go,” Jason’s head fell back on the bed. He studied Piper’s face, searching for some sort of regret or guilt. She couldn’t be leaving, could she? It didn’t make sense, especially with Leo the way he was.

Piper’s face was peaceful. “I need to.” She absentmindedly ran her fingers through his hair and Jason pulled away. Piper’s hands went to her lap. “My dad and I are taking a break from Hollywood. We have a place in Oklahoma, and we’re going to visit the Qualla Boundary at the end of the month. Hedge and his family are going to stay with us for a bit. It feels… better this way.”

Jason stood. “You said the same thing when we broke up.”

“Do _you_ feel better?”

“... I don’t know.”

“And that was part of the problem,” Piper stood as well. Her head barely came past his chin. “Jason… you don’t know _what_ you want.”

 _And you do?_ Jason wanted to say. “Is this- is _this_ what you want to do? Go to Oklahoma?”

She nodded. “For now. I don’t mind if the plan changes. But for now, yes, Jason. It’s what I want to do,” Piper dragged her suitcase off her bed. The wheels rattled against the hardwood. She popped up the handlebar. “I hope you figure out what you want too.”

Jason left the cabin shortly after that. He headed towards Cabin 13, Pluto’s cabin, and knocked on the door. Nico Di Angelo opened it a few seconds later, his hair messy and face exhausted.

“Just woke up?” Jason joked, but Nico didn’t find it funny. “Is Hazel here?”

Nico closed the door. Jason kicked at the dirt. Hazel came out in flip flops and a tank top, flipping plastic star-framed sunglasses down to her face. “Hi Jason.”

“Hey,” he offered his arm. “Want to take a walk? Sorry I missed you coming in.”

Hazel giggled, slipping arm with his, “With pleasure. And don’t worry. I get it.” They began wandering the path following the cabins.

“I noticed you’re not wearing the toga,” Jason commented, trying to strike up a conversation with the girl. Even though he and Hazel had spent weeks together on the Argo, he barely knew her. Jason should’ve tried harder to connect with his peers, but getting attacked by monsters every other hour prevented any ice-breaker games. Even before that, he and Hazel hardly talked when they were in the Fifth Cohort.

Hazel shrugged. “It’s too stuffy. Besides, I’m visiting our sister camp on unofficial business. Don’t tell me you wore that toga all the time.”

Jason flushed because he definitely _did_. Sure, when he was praetor, the toga felt old-fashioned, but Jason wore it with pride because his home chose him to represent it. Hazel laughed behind her hand.

“How _is_ New Rome?” Jason asked. He hadn’t been there since the end of August. Then he heard that Leo was alive, and he and Piper started their frantic search.

Hazel looked like she had sucked on a lemon. “The council isn’t too happy with a 14-year-old praetor, _or_ with Reyna leaving for the Hunters. They’re not happy with the integration project you started either.”

“That’s too bad. If we could connect the two camps, then some of the stigma would go away.”

Hazel shrugged. “Yep. So I’ve been continuing the project anyway. Screw those bags of dust.” They reached the beach, and they both bent to take their shoes off. The weather was cold even with Camp Half-Blood’s protective barrier blocking most of the New York winter air, so Jason pushed away some of the wind himself. Hazel sighed. “I didn’t think being a praetor was so much work.”

Jason peered out at the deep blues of the ocean. “Is it? I was only praetor for a month before Hera swapped me and Percy.”

“Frank’s been _trying_ to help, but it still feels like a lot,” Hazel admitted. “I miss being in the Fifth Cohort, shoveling poop and cleaning weapons.” She tiptoed ahead like a ballerina. “I miss being on the Argo, too.”

Jason agreed with that. “Yeah. I wish things didn’t turn out the way they did.”

“Being one of the seven of the prophecy felt nice,” Hazel kicked up some sand. “Like, I was in a group, and I was important. The prophecy and the monsters were stressful, don’t get me wrong, but it was simple! I knew every day that I would wake up, fight some bad guys, hear some jokes and then come back and play board games on Fridays.” Hazel stopped walking as her fingers gripped her flip-flops tighter, and her face fell. “It’s so… _sad_ that we all broke up.”

Jason reached for her hand. “Hey, don’t be sad, Hazel. We’re all here again now, right? Leo’s back.”

“I’m not sad, Jason,” Hazel lifted her head, and because of his height and the angle, he could see her dark eyes burning. “I’m _frustrated_. The prophecy’s over, and Gaea’s gone for now, but I still feel the weight of the world on my shoulders. Don’t you feel it too?”

He did not. Jason genuinely felt lighter. He had distanced himself away from the god part of himself and focused on the human at boarding school. When Leo came back, his heart felt even lighter.

He also didn’t think that approach was suitable for everyone. It was working for Piper, but Hazel needed Camp Jupiter. Jason was scared that he _didn’t_. When he got shipped away, and Piper broke up with him, and no one contacted Jason, his responsibilities as the son of Jupiter disappeared as well. But he still missed the two camps, didn’t he?

Hazel’s face crumbled again when Jason didn’t say anything. “I want to do what other kids my age is doing.”

What would Piper say right now? She would assure Hazel, wouldn’t she? What would Leo say? A joke to lighten the mood?

“I don’t know many kids who are also 83 years old, but I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” Jason said. He then added, “You’re _the_ Hazel Levesque. Princess of Hell and the _best_ praetor the Fifth Cohort’s produced.”

She studied Jason’s face for a second. But then, slowly yet steadily, a smile lifted on her lips. “I suppose… excluding Frank, of course.” She glanced back towards camp. “We should have an Argo Reunion. We’ll have to have it in New Rome because both Frank and I can’t leave the Legion at the same time, but we should do it.”

“I’ll tell Leo once I drag him out. Annabeth and Percy would already be there when school ends.”

Hazel had a skeptical look on her face. “I’ll tell Frank... and Piper, then. Make sure to bring Coach Hedge as well.” Hazel guided them back to camp. “It’s been hard to sleep without his screaming a few doors down.”

Jason groaned. “Trust me, you don’t want to see him get super happy. Picture a mountain goat who just won the Olympics.”

At Jason’s scarred face, Hazel made them stop walking as she doubled over with laughter. “That’s the look of someone who has _seen_ things.”

“ _Terrible_ things,” He whined. “Hedge gets too into things.”

Hazel clutched her stomach, and Jason laughed too. They decided to jog the rest of the way back to Hazel’s cabin. Once they stopped, Hazel didn’t open the door.

“I wish we talked more,” she said earnestly. “You should’ve stayed longer after my ceremony.”

“I couldn’t,” Jason waved his hand. “Le-”

“ _Leo_ , I know, I missed him too. I wish he hadn’t holed himself up before I came,” Hazel was like a kicked puppy. “I have to leave in a few days, so hopefully he comes out.”

“You’re leaving?”

“I have to,” Hazel was confused. “I’m needed back at the Legion. Aren’t you going back too? It’s been a while, but everyone misses you.”

“I’m staying here,” Jason said, confused himself. “Why would I leave here?”

“Um,” Hazel lifted her sunglasses. “It’s your home? You can live a normal and safe life in New Rome since you did ten years already, though I don’t think anyone would object to you-”

“I’m staying here for a while,” Jason cut her off. “To help Leo out. He needs someone.”

Hazel bit her fingers, in thought. Her face lit up. “You guys can move to New Rome together! Then almost everyone from the seven will be there. We’ll have to convince Piper to come, but it can be like the Argo all over again! Maybe we can share a couple of townhouses together… What do you think?”

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Jason began, but on seeing her crestfallen face, Jason slowly nodded. “It’s definitely a thought, though. Give us some time to think it over.”

“... Alright,” Hazel was leaning on her cabin door, so when it opened, she jumped to a fighting stance. Seeing it was just Nico, she relaxed and smiled at Jason. “We have a sibling day planned in the city. We’ll check up on Leo later tonight. If you get to see him today, can you tell him I’m here?”

“Yeah.” Nico was handing Hazel a puffy purple winter coat and earmuffs. Maybe Jason should go into the city too.

“Bye, Jason!” Hazel waved happily, and Nico waved as well though not as energetically. The two dove into the shadows on the vine-covered side of Cabin 12, the god represented Jason couldn’t recall, shadow traveling away.

From where he was standing, he could see the Venus cabin carrying laundry baskets back to their cabin, Piper sitting on the steps waiting for them. She caught Jason’s eye, but Jason brushed her off.

He headed towards the dining pavilion for lunch.

* * *

Sitting outside of Bunker Nine had become routine the past few weeks. Again, Festus was lying outside the bunker’s doors, similar to a loyal guard dog. A couple of naiads from a stream nearby danced around Festus’ sleeping head, as they chattered and wove daisies and dandelions into a giant flower crown. They had been at it for a day now, but Festus’ head was too big for their first one.

“Hey Festus,” Jason approached, and the water spirits giggled, whispering to themselves. One of the dragon’s sleepy eyes peeled open and then shut, not seeing Jason as a threat. “You’re not going to let me in again, are you?”

Festus creaked, and a naiad shrieked when steam blew from his nose, flipping her lily pad skirt. Jason sat on the boulder he had rolled in front of Festus days ago. He shook his plastic bag, the contents inside jostling. “I bought Leo lunch again. And you can’t pretend like he’s not eating it because it’s gone every day.”

“Aw,” one of the nymphs cooed. Another one blew grass blades into Jason’s face, while her friend cried, “PLASTIC’S BAD!” Jason blew a gust of wind at them, and the girls screamed and jumped away. They camouflaged with the foliage.

Jason’s hand raked through his hair, flicking out leftover grass. “When are you gonna let me in, Festus? We’re friends, aren’t we?” He whined at Jason, and his wings shifted to better cover the entrance. A naiad peeked out and adjusted the falling flower crown.

Slowly they came out from hiding as Jason slumped over on his boulder. He completely slid into the grass by the time two hours passed and watched the naiads continue singing as they laced more flowers into Festus. It was about an hour later when one of the girls tiptoed over and plopped a much smaller flower crown on Jason’s chest, woven with oak leaves, olive branches, and a few strong-smelling pinecones.

Oak leaves and olive branches were Zeus’ sacred plants. Jason wondered when they figured out he was the son of Jupiter, but he’s also been blowing them away for the past couple of days. They probably threw in the pinecones because of Thalia.

Jason was so tired that he didn’t object when some of the more daring nymphs began sprinkling him with leaves and daisies. Their melodic singing brought up happy memories to his mind.

“Jason?” Jason peeled his eyes open, but they were caked with dirt. It was dark now. He must’ve fallen asleep. The naiads were gone, leaving him a messy blob covered in mud and plucked flowers. His flower crown was gone, but Festus’ sat next to the dragon like a giant hula hoop.

Harley was kneeling next to him. The eight-year-old was squeezing the straps to his backpack and giving Jason a bizarre look. The now lit torches at Bunker 9’s entrance cast odd shadows across his face, making Harley seem infinitely older and solemn. “Are you alive?”

“Maybe,” Jason groaned, sitting up. There was a _lot_ of mud on him. His legs fell asleep. “What time is it?”

“Dunno,” Harley clambered on top of Jason’s boulder like a monkey scaling trees. “We already ate dinner, so after that. Seven?” He wobbled and then found his balance. “Nyssa said I can go teach Leo now because it’s Free Time.”

Jason perked at that. He then squinted suspiciously at Festus. “So you’ve been able to get in and out every day?”

“Yup,” Harley started spinning in place. “The bunker is awesome! Did you know that there’s a car in there? It’s James _Dean’s!_ Leo promised that we’re going to rebuild it together but I already started gathering stuff for the engine, _whoaaaa-_ ” Harley spun off the boulder, and Jason jumped to catch him. The child leaped up to his feet, unharmed. “Don’t tell Leo, though. He wanted us to work on it together.”

Jason picked up Harley’s fallen hat. “How’s he doing? Why won’t he come out to see me?”

“Uhhhhhhhh,” Harley was now climbing onto Festus. The dragon bristled but rolled out his tail to use as a step stool. “He’s getting better now, but he’s still really bad at letters. He keeps confusing S and T, but it’s so _eeeeaaaaasy!_ ”

“That’s not-” Jason lurched forward to catch Harley when his foot slipped, but the kid saved himself. “What I meant was _, how is Leo_?”

Harley finally managed to sit at the base of Festus’ neck. He was sitting in the front seat, the one Leo typically sat in. He stuck his hand out at Jason. “Can I get my hat back?” With his baseball cap firmly on, Harley dug his fingers into Festus’ head. “He’s okay. A little sad because Calypso’s gone, but he’s good.”

Festus shut off, and Harley jerked out a weird disc and colorful wires. His tongue sticking out, Harley reached deeper into Festus’ mechanical insides. He bobbed his head toward Jason. “Can you get something from my bag?”

Jason flew, sitting in the comfortable seat that used to be his own, back when he was traveling with Piper and Leo. He swallowed, handing off whatever tools the kid asked for. Besides the various tools that a Vulcan kid couldn’t leave home without, were intermediate level books on ASL for teaching Leo. There was also a sketchpad, a couple of action figures, and a workbook for Geometry.

“Does Leo not want to see me?” Because he was sitting behind Harley, Jason couldn’t read the child’s expression-filled face.

Harley asked for a screwdriver. “Uhhhh, it’s not _that_.” He handed Jason a screw to hold. “It’s not just you… my cabin sends me notes to pass along to him. So don’t worry ’bout it… Allen wrench?”

Jason felt relieved at that. He wasn’t entirely sure if Leo had instructed Festus to keep him out in particular. But he didn’t know why Leo would do anything like that. Jason felt silly for even thinking such a thing in the first place. Leo and Jason were best friends… Leo mattered to Jason a lot, so the reverse was presumably true as well.

But Leo had become good at concealing his feelings. Jason wasn’t as good at discerning them.

“I think Leo’s afraid,” Harley said, suddenly. The neon orange Mets team symbol on his baseball cap stared Jason in the face. “But don’t worry! If it’s you, then I think you’ll be able to come in soon.”

He’d have to accept that for now. It was better than nothing. “Why do you know sign language?” Jason asked, changing the conversation.

“My mommy and ‘lita were deaf,” Harley exclaimed. “Then I went to deaf school in kindergarten and first grade, and I went to deaf camp before I came here. Now I live here like you and Leo and all my friends.”

“I don’t live here,” Jason said gently.

Harley reached further into Festus, his little arm getting swallowed up. “Sure you do. Camp is _awesome!_ It’s like Disney but for demigods. I haven’t been to the other camp, but this one’s the best. I bet all my friends from deaf camp would be _so_ jealous that my brother saved the world, and I get to ride a _dragon_.”

“You’re pretty cool.”

“I _know_ ,” Harley finally turned to Jason. “Where are all the screws? I need them now.”

Jason handed the small pile off. “I didn’t know deaf school took in non-deaf kids.”

“My school was the best because it’s the only one in New York that let hearing kids in,” Harley puffed with pride. He finished his last screw and Festus vibrated to life. “But it’s okay that I don’t go there anymore because Lita and Mommy are dead, so my protector sent me here, and I really like it.”

Jason wasn’t expecting that at _all_. “I’m sorry about your family.”

“It’s okay,” Harley shrugged. “Can you zip me, please?” Jason’s fingers fumbled as he hooked onto the zipper. “I know all about the Elysium because of the Athena Cabin and Heaven because of church. So it’s okay. Plus I have Leo and Nyssa and Christopher and Shane and Jake when he comes back, and Allison and Mercedes and-”

“You’re a really lucky kid, you know that?” Jason picked up Harley under his armpits, to which Harley squirmed, and dumped them both on the ground. “I wish I had such a big family.”

“That’s stupid.” Harley was missing one of his front teeth, Jason noticed. He was so young and had already experienced a close death. Being a demigod was alarmingly cruel. “You have me and Leo, Piper, _Percy,_ ” he said Percy’s name with such an intense adoration and big eyes that Jason was nearly jealous, “-and Annabeth, Hazel and Frank and _all_ of camp.”

Jason snorted at that. “You’re right. I _do_ have a big family, then.”

Except Leo was keeping him out, Piper was leaving, Percy and Annabeth were too busy, and Hazel and Frank were across the country. Hedge didn’t feel like _his_ protector because Jason was too Roman, too foreign, not Wilderness. Thalia hadn’t talked to him since last year, Reyna was in a similar boat with the Hunters, and Octavian was dead.

How could someone who had once felt like he belonged to two camps now felt like he belonged to neither? There was something flawed and lacking in Jason.

“I’m going to go in to see Leo now,” Harley declared. “Do you want to tell him something?”

“That I’ve been here for him the past week. Hazel’s here now and says hi.”

Harley nodded feverishly. “Oh. Yeah, he knows. But I’ll tell him anyway!” He scampered off toward the bunker, and Festus blew a flame at the entrance to allow the door to open up. The rumbling of the rocks moving back in its place was followed by the metal clacks of Festus moving back in place. The dragon gawked at him as if daring Jason to try to slip inside.

Jason had learned his lesson from the first time he tried to do that. He picked up the discarded lunch he brought. “Here,” Jason opened the bag and poured the Tabasco he nabbed into the empty bowl. The food he had gathered for Leo had long grown cold.

“You’re still not gonna let me in, are you?” Jason asked Festus as he hovered the bowl in front of the dragon. Festus creaked at him and bowed his head. Jason sighed, rolling his eyes as he put down the bowl. “Thought as much. You’re good to Leo.”

Festus responded by squirting some of the hot sauce on him.

* * *

The next day, Percy Jackson was waiting outside Jason’s cabin. He was wearing a chest plate and held his favored sword up. “Wanna spar?”

A few sweaty hours later, Jason and Percy collapsed in the arena, heavily gasping for air and decided on a tie. Kind of. They were too drained to continue with their weak slicing.

“You know,” Percy wheezed, his arm around the neck of one of the straw training dummies. “Maybe we should’ve stretched before this. I think I pulled a muscle.”

“Ha,” Jason was too weak to argue. “I’m... out of shape.” His glasses were foggy so he couldn’t see Percy’s expression, but he was confident it was just as worn out as his own. “... Should’ve- should’ve done a sport or something.”

“Me too, bro,” Percy agreed. “I joined the- the swim team? Then the pool closed because of a prank. Can you-” He let out a loud _WHEW_ that practically could’ve came from Jason. “Can you believe that?”

“Places I didn’t know _existed_ hurt right now,” Jason sat up. He stripped off his sweaty chest plate and was immediately relieved by the weight easing upon his body. He took off his glasses and pulled at the neck of his shirt to let in air.

“You and me both,” Percy dropped next to him. Something cracked. “Oops.”

“What?”

“Nothing,” Percy then began laughing. “I’m glad to know that we both lost a bit of our edge. It’d probably be a lot worse if one of us beat the other.”

“Probably.”

Percy passed his Gatorade. Jason drank some then made a face. “This is the worst flavor.”

“Cool Blue was all the camp store had!” Percy didn’t sound very convincing.

Jason passed the bottle back. “I can’t believe you sacrificed taste because it’s _blue_. Just drink water.”

“Last time I help you out,” Percy said, miffed. He took a swig and opened his mouth, saliva wet and smacking. “I heard Piper’s leaving?”

“Yeah?” Jason was starting to cool down.

“Yeah. She and Annabeth were talking about it yesterday. We’re going to see the fireworks tonight before she leaves if you want to come,” Percy mentioned. “Frank won’t be there, but Hazel said she can make it. I think Will and Nico are coming together too.”

“I don’t know…”

“It would be good to see you there,” Percy said, firmly. “Annie and Will think it’ll be good for you. So you won’t spend the night… you know.”

“Moping in front of Leo’s?”

“ _Yeah_.” Percy offered his Gatorade again, but Jason shook his head. The son of Jupiter leaned forward to tighten his shoelaces.

“I’ll go,” Jason said. “But I’m going to try to get Leo out first, alright? He’s one of us, and we can’t leave him behind. Not again.”

Percy looked at him like that, silent and calculating. He was blurry, but Jason didn’t like the look of those green eyes analyzing him like that. Like they were on the battlefield, and Percy didn’t know who he was.

“Makes sense,” Percy shrugged, the moment gone. His eyes returned to the calm sea they usually were. “So how was school, son?”

“We’re _not_ doing this,” Jason stood up. “Where’s my glasses?”

Percy let out an awkward chuckle. He wiggled his butt, and Jason heard another crack. Like glass. “So about _that_ -”.

Jason jumped at him with newfound strength, fingertips crackling with lightning.

* * *

He went to Leo’s the way he usually did at lunchtime. Unlike usual, Piper was sitting on his boulder, allowing one of the naiads to drape her in aromatic roses and pretty clusters of white myrtle. Piper smiled at Jason when she saw him, and Jason’s heartbeat rose to a familiar fast speed.

“The naiads have been telling me that you come here every day,” Piper started. Only three nymphs were skipping around. One of the girls, a dryad to be exact, smelled of candied fruit as she went about picking flowers for Piper. She reached into the grass like she was searching in the dirt, and when she pulled her green-tinted fingers up, roses bunched in her hands.

“Maybe one day Leo would open up for me,” Jason sat against Festus. The dragon didn’t protest and went back to sleep.

Piper gazed at the entrance. “He’s hurting. It wasn’t right for Calypso to just ditch like that. If I ever see her face again-” the dryad faltered from approaching her, and Piper relaxed. “Shit. I don’t know what’s worse: Percy not bringing her back, or if he _had_ brought her back.” In her lap, her fingers dug into her palms.

“Have you ever seen Leo so bummed out like that?” Jason asked.

Piper’s forehead creased. “Maybe once or twice. Remember when we were building the Argo and the hull caved in? It wasn’t this bad, though. There was another time at Wilderness,” her eyes flickered to Jason. “It doesn’t matter now, though. Where are your glasses? It’s been a while since I’ve seen you without them.”

“Percy broke them,” Jason explained quickly. “What happened at Wilderness?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Piper shook her head. “It’s just… You look like how you used to look back at school. You wore a lot of plain shirts like that.” Jason was wearing a white shirt and sweatpants. He didn’t feel comfortable in wearing his SPQR shirts at CHB, nor did he feel Greek enough to adorn the orange camp shirt.

“Is that bad?”

Piper lifted her arm for the dryad to push on a bracelet. “No. It’s reminiscent, I guess. It reminds me of before that stupid trip.”

Jason stared down at his shirt. It was just white. The naiad closest to him handed him his flower crown from yesterday, and another one with blinding gardenias, colorful sunflowers, and lavender hyacinths. Piper had her own being given to her, filled with the typical roses of Venus.

“Put it on, plastic boy,” the naiad urged, and Jason cringed. He left the third one in his hand.

They sat in silence for a few hours. Jason left the naiads to do their frolicking, but if any of them came particularly too close with their mud, he warded them off with a warning grimace. Piper wasn’t one to play dress-up either, but she allowed them until they turned their backs, and she threw a few stink eyes.

“It’s getting late,” Piper said. “You’re coming with us to the city tonight, right?”

Jason shrugged. She stood up. “I’m going-” A rumbling interrupted her, and Festus jumped to his feet. Jason watched as the Bunker 9 entrance cracked open.

Leo took a step out, mid-whistle, looked up, and paused. Jason and Piper’s wide eyes stared back. Leo did a U-turn and whistled again into the bunker, the door shut. Piper and Jason looked at each other.

Piper practically _flew_ to the door. “LEO VALDEZ, YOU OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW.” She banged on the stone with all her might. Jason, meanwhile, squinted at Festus with disappointment.

“I fed you for _days_ ,” Jason wilted. “You owe me. Remember all the good times we had in Canada?”

Festus made a quick clicking noise. Jason didn’t know what it meant, but he said, “Don’t speak to me like that. You know what you have to do.”

After a few desperate clicks, Jason swooped down to keep Piper from being barbequed. Festus blew fire into the bunker and soared inside with a mighty flap of his wings. Jason flew in as well, keeping Piper close to his chest.

The inside of Bunker 9 was the same as it had been when Jason stood here a year ago. Leo, or maybe one of the Vulcan kids, had built a steadier bed frame in a corner and converted the space to a proper live-in area. There, on an ugly couch that was only suited for the living room of a grandma, was Leo playing on a blue 3DS.

Jason landed on the coffee table in front of him. Leo didn’t even look at him. “Dude, get off my table. That’s so rude.”

Piper slid from Jason and ran to Leo. She hugged him tightly muttering, _stupid stupid stupid,_ and Jason feared that if he touched Leo, he’d wake up from an illusion.

“Leo,” Jason started, and then he remembered. It had slipped from his mind because he hadn’t seen Leo in so long. He looked around, finding a whiteboard and an Expo marker. From the leftover scribble, Nico must’ve been here at some point. He was here and didn’t tell Jason? **Leo. Are you okay?**

Leo grinned, and Jason’s stomach fluttered at the sight. “Of course. I just needed some time for myself.” Festus click-clacked to that and rumbled to sleep in the back hangar. Leo’s eyes swept the floor as if he was searching for something. He bent over and pushed orange earplugs into his ear. Turning back on the couch, he blew a raspberry at Festus. “Sorry about not letting you in. I’ve been busy.”

Jason didn’t care. He hugged Leo, finding him _very_ real, and his heart pounded at the thought that Leo almost _wasn’t_. Piper stood up, circling the coffee table. From Leo’s neck, Jason asked, “Are you going to tell him?”

“Not yet,” Piper murmured. “The time’s not right.”

Jason released Leo. He looked at peace. Calm and still, which was unlike the Leo Jason, met a year ago. It reminded him of when Leo first came back from Calypso. Jason was disgusted that the Titan would leave her mark on his best friend like that.

“Is that for me? Everyone else is wearing one.” Leo tugged at the crushed flower crown in Jason’s hand. He had forgotten he was carrying it. Leo slipped the crown on. “When’d you pick up the flower power, Jay?”

 **Why didn’t you let me in? I wanted to be there for you.** Jason wrote. “Tell him.” He told Piper.

Leo’s hands went back to his 3DS. He was playing some kind of racing game. “I wanted to be alone for a bit. It’s not that big of a deal. I would’ve let you in a few days ago, but I got distracted. Totally my fault there, you guys.”

“Stop it, Jason,” Piper said. She pulled out her iPhone and spoke into it. While Jason could hear it, Leo skimmed the screen. **I’m sorry about Calypso.** She continued pacing the floor, biting her fingernails.

Leo’s little character, a blonde girl in a pink dress, twirled around. “Don’t feel sorry. I’m not sorry, so you two shouldn’t be either.”

“ _Piper,_ ” Jason urged. On the whiteboard: **What can we do to help you?**

“I’ll tell him when I need to,” Piper assured him. “I don’t understand how he can be so relaxed about Calypso. She’s so infuriating.”

“I’m fine, really,” Leo said, not realizing that Piper and Jason were starting to stray. He tilted with his game, as he raced around the course. “If anything, you can tell Harley to get off my back about these lessons.”

“I don’t know why she ran in the first place,” Jason didn’t like the Titan very much either. He couldn’t accept that someone can owe a guy her freedom and then abandon him the way she did. No note, no warning, merely a vanish. “Didn’t she like being here? Didn’t she like Leo?”

“She liked Camp,” Piper affirmed. “As for Leo, she _did_ love him. It felt off, but I didn’t question it.”

Next to Jason, Leo cheered at coming in 1st place. He clicked the small screen with a stylus, murmuring about racetracks. “Hey guys, do you wanna play with-”

“Wait, so you _knew?_ ” Jason stood from the couch. His suddenly hostile tone brought Festus to an alert state. Leo’s eyes flickered between Jason and Piper, analyzing the situation based on Jason’s defensive pose. “Sorry,” he muttered and glared at Piper. Leo hesitantly started up a new race. “You knew and didn’t say anything?”

“I didn’t _know,_ ” Piper was quick to get defensive. She’s always been able to defend herself so steadily and carefully. “I didn’t think she was just going to _leave_. I knew something was off, but I couldn’t tell if it was an Aphrodite love feeling or a _Piper_ feeling.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Jason fumed. “You’re not allowed to do that. It’s not fair.”

“Do what, Jason?” Piper said, exasperated. “Be confused? How is _that_ fair?”

“ _Separate yourself from this,_ ” Jason frowned. “You can’t _pretend_ you’re not a daughter of Aphrodite. You’re not allowed to suddenly drop who your mom is and pretend that part of you doesn’t exist.”

“Guys?” Leo chimed in, his back pressed so far back into the couch that he almost disappeared.

Piper’s eyes narrowed. “Where do you get off on this, Jason? You’re not my boyfriend anymore. You can’t tell me what I can and can’t do.”

“I’m not your boyfriend, but I’m still your best friend,” Jason countered. “Don’t you see how unfair it is for you to leave?” He pointed at Leo, who hastily scrambled to his feet and backed up by Festus.

Piper’s fists clenched tighter. “It’s my decision. I’m doing what’s best for me. I love you, and I love Leo, but I’ve spent so long trying to figure out who I was.” Her body was tense, the automatic lasting result of being at war, being able to sense danger, the danger that was Jason- Jason was _danger_. He stiffened. “Now I finally have a chance to do that, and you’re _against_ me? How is _that_ fair to _me?_ When Leo died, I tried, Jason, I really did. I tried _so_ hard to be a demigod for everyone. For the Argo, for my cabin, for this camp, for _you_. I’m not _like_ you, Jason. I never asked for any of this.”

Piper’s anger was so radioactive, it was contained and bottled and had been for a long time now, and Jason had made it all so much worse. Her rage was painfully justified, and she was _allowed_ anger, but there was so much that it spilled. “I didn’t _want_ to be thrown into a war like this. I didn’t want my dad to be kidnapped, I didn’t want to see my best friend explode, I didn’t want to get too many scars to count, I didn’t want any of the monsters or any of the nightmares.” The bunker sounded deadly quiet. “How is any of that _fair_ , Jason? Being a demigod is unfair. I lived my life as the daughter of Aphrodite, and I never wanted that. It’s my decision to live as _me_ now.”

Everything was still. Jason’s adrenaline had subconsciously spiked as if he was about to fight, but that was wrong, that was incredibly wrong. Then, Festus glided forward, lifted his head, and blew an intense smoke at both of them, sending all those flowers and their hair flying back. Piper looked ticked, but calmer.

“Thanks,” she muttered. “I needed that.”

“Uh, _what_ just happened?” From across the bunker, Leo shook his hand at them. He was a dark blur to Jason, regardless. “You two better have this lover’s quarrel outside, or I’ll kick you out.”

Tiredly, Jason grabbed the whiteboard. **It’s not a lover’s quarrel. You can come back.** He threw it towards Leo. A few seconds later and Leo folded his arms at them. “Sit,” he pointed at the couch. When neither Piper or Jason moved, Leo repeated in a more serious tone, _“Sit._ ”

They sat. Leo tossed back the whiteboard, and Festus stomped over to them. Standing at nearly his full height, Jason realized that the dragon was missing a leg. Had he always been missing a leg?

“I don’t know what’s going on between you two, but I’m _okay_ ,” Leo confessed. He tilted his head, flowers rustling in his hair. “I appreciate you both looking out for me, but you’re free to go. You guys can leave. I’m okay with that. Go back to LA and have a million babies and name them all Leo, you hear?” His eyes were unfocused, bouncing around between Jason and Piper and Festus. He was slowly inching towards the machine, though, rather than his best friends.

 **I’m not going anywhere _,_** Jason professed honestly. He was going to stick by Leo’s side. Jason didn’t have anyone or anywhere else.

Piper didn’t say anything aloud, nor did she type or write anything. Festus dipped his head down by Leo’s, and he took out his earplugs. “Yeah,” Leo said. It didn’t sound like it was to either Jason or Piper. Then, Leo turned, training his eyes at Jason. “You don’t have to say that, dude. Go back to your fancy prep school and beat up some nerds for me. And you,” his head bent to Piper. “Go to your dad and chill out away from all this demigod shit. It’s not healthy for anyone.”

Piper choked back a cry, her eyes burning when she looked at Jason. Jason’s heart ached for her. How was it that Leo, who hadn’t seen Piper in a week, and then months before that, knew what she wanted? Even when Jason had always been at her side since that Grand Canyon trip, he couldn’t understand? How was it that Piper knew that Jason was so internally confused, but he couldn’t grasp the concept that she _wasn’t_?

Jason was going to be better, he decided. If he couldn’t do it for Piper, then he’ll do it for Leo.

Piper tapped into her phone. **Are you going to leave the Bunker now?**

“I don’t know yet,” Leo admitted. “I like it here.”

**Everyone is worried about you.**

“I heard. Harley’s been telling me since I first let him in. I said I was sorry.”

**Jason was waiting a long time for you.**

Leo looked Jason in the eye. “Sorry, Jay.” The gaze was too intense for Jason, but he held it steadily. Leo’s eyes bounced away at the floor, sheepish.

Jason wrote this time, **You can’t push people away like this. We’re always here for you.** Piper didn’t get to see the board because he wiped it away too quickly.

“Yeah, yeah. I don’t need the lecture from you two,” Leo gestured with his hand for the two of them to make room on the couch. He sat in the middle of them. “Can’t we just make up and be best friends again? I said I was _sorry_.”

Jason’s **No** countered with Piper’s **Okay.** , but because he heard Piper say it before Leo could read it, Jason cleared his board away. Jason looked over Leo’s head. “We should mention New Years. It’s almost 9.”

Piper nodded and launched into a long-winded explanation asking Leo. He scanned the screen and said, “Why not?” and they agreed to meet again on the beach in an hour, with the rest of their friends. Piper left shortly after, and Jason wanted to stay, but Leo dismissed him, saying he needed to do something first.

Jason went back to his cabin, not sure what to do. It was empty for obvious reasons. He sat on the bottom bunk, where Leo had slept for a few days. He didn’t know why, but someone had decorated his cabin with flowers when Leo moved in. He doubted it was his best friend who did it. The flowers were a cheery change, but without anyone to share them with, it felt as if they withered at the sight of a desolate Jason.

He bided his time staring at the wall instead.

* * *

He felt _very_ uncomfortable. Jason, Piper, and Leo were unexpectedly wearing the same clothes they wore last year. It reminded him too much of Dylan at the Canyon, of Hedge going missing, of sleeping on Festus.

Annabeth was talking to Leo. She knew sign language. Jason should have asked Harley to teach him because he wanted to be able to communicate with his best friend. He was trying to do the best he could for Leo’s sake. Hazel, Nico, and Will huddled around Piper.

“Where’s Percy?” Jason stood by Annabeth and Leo instead.

Annabeth was wearing a brown coat with a fur-lined hood. Her hair was tucked behind a fleece headband, and she was wearing brown rip-off Uggs. “In the ocean.”

As if he was called, Percy’s head popped out. “I got our ride!” He swam back to shore, and behind him were two majestic… horse fish? They were mermaids except half horse rather than human, and they neighed as they galloped/swam closer. When Percy hit the shoreline, he was dry and chided one of the horsefish about cursing.

“So, according to Jerry over here,” Percy came closer, gesturing to one of his horsefish with knitted gloves. “The best place would be either the East River or Hudson. Then we can eat together afterward.”

“We still have to be quick,” Annabeth added. “Eight demigods and a satyr is a smorgasbord for monsters. Chiron said he should be expecting us back by dawn at the latest, but we won’t be out that late.”

“I vote East River,” Percy finished with a cringe. “The Hudson isn’t fun.”

“You’re the water expert,” Will agreed. Jason’s never seen him wear anything but shorts, and Will stayed true to that. His hand was in Nico’s, much to the son of Hades’ embarrassment. “That’s where the Brooklyn Bridge is?”

“That’s a good meeting point. We can choose a good spot on the bridge walkway, or in the park.” Annabeth said. “We won’t see the ball drop, but the fireworks would be nice.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Hazel nodded.

“Sweet. Who wants to ride with us?” Percy’s horsefish (Jerry?) nuzzled his shoulder. “The hippocampi are super friendly and like cuddles. Hazel? Will?”

Jason was nauseated at the notion of traveling underwater. While he’s done it before, even with Percy at his side, Jason would rather go with Festus in the air. From the looks of it, Hazel and Nico were just as green and having similar thoughts. Hazel seemed a little torn, and Jason recalled that she liked horses.

“Me and Nico are shadow traveling,” Will explained.

“I have Arion,” Hazel said, but still looked like she wanted to pet Jerry. Percy seemed sullen because no one wanted to ride with him until Annabeth hooked her arm over his shoulder.

“Come on,” She laughed. “We can go together.” Percy brightened and sent the other hippocampi, Tom, away. Annabeth turned back as she settled against the horse fish. “See you all in a few.” They dove into the water together, Percy’s voice chattering about the East River god fading into frothy bubbles.

Hazel quickly followed on her horse, and Nico and Will jogged towards the shadows of the trees. The remaining three stared at each other.

“Just like old times,” Leo chuckled, and Festus bent for them to all climb on. They sat in their comfortable formation, Leo in the front, Jason in the back. “Where are we going?”

Jason didn’t know anything about New York, but Piper did. She pointed over Leo’s shoulder, and Festus began to flap his wings as they launched off.

As they flew, he began to realize, very quickly, very startlingly, that Jason should’ve taken Tempest instead. Sitting like this in the night sky with the skyline poking through the clouds, looking at the back of Piper’s head, evoked memories of last winter. It reminded him of when they didn’t know what they were getting into, when Jason thought he had touched the clouds for the first time, when Leo used to crack jokes constantly, when Piper used to hold his hand.

Now it all felt too bittersweet. They survived a war, but for what? The world below them never knew their lives were in danger. The city didn’t know that Leo unwillingly changed, that Piper hopelessly yearned, that Jason... and what _did_ change about Jason? He didn’t feel right to be known as a child of Rome anymore, but the Greeks haven’t accepted the Romans yet. He didn’t know where he fit in.

Jason _didn’t_ change. He was just as confused about himself as he did last week. Gaining his memory somehow furthered his crisis.

Sitting on Festus was too quiet. Something between the three of them matured, and Jason desperately wished it hadn’t.

* * *

They were the last ones to the bridge. The group decided on a little sandy corner by the bridge, where a stone walkway curved into the park. Piper was a few yards away, talking to Coach Hedge in an Iris Message, while Annabeth and Percy left to get some snacks for them to munch on.

Hazel and Leo were laughing together as they sat on the pathway, legs dangling over the sand. Jason took a deep breath, but he was still on the lookout for monsters.

“Relax,” Will told him, sitting closeby. “You’re not at war anymore.” Next to him, Nico was trying to bury himself in his coat. “What’s wrong, Jason?”

“Nothing,” Jason sighed. “How are you two? It feels like forever since we’ve talked.”

“It’s been a while,” Nico said. “You were sent away to school.”

“I knew Leo was alive,” Jason glances toward Hazel and Leo. “And he was. I should’ve searched harder.”

Nico and Will looked between each other. “You’re too hard on yourself,” Will said. “You did the best you could.”

“Leo’s lucky to have friends like you and Piper,” Nico claimed. His breath fogged in front of him, cheeks pink and hands trembling. Will grabbed his hands to warm them, and the red in Nico’s face deepened. “W-We know that Piper’s leaving. Are you staying at Camp Half-Blood?”

It was starting to feel like everyone, but Leo, the one who should know about Piper leaving the _most_ , knew. Piper was still talking to Hedge, but even Jason could hear the satyr’s yelling. “Yeah,” Jason said.

“Oh,” Will and Nico looked at each other again. Will pulled the flaps of his hat down more. “What about school? You’re going into your senior year, right?”

“It’s fine. Camp Half-Blood tutors in the basic subjects anyway,” Jason murmured. “My life is here.”

“I’ve lived at Camp Half-Blood for about four years now. It’s not a place to settle down,” Will said. “Most people either die or go to college afterward. Are you sure?”

“Frank’s working on a transfer program for college-bound Greeks to New Rome,” Nico added. “It’s not done yet, but he would appreciate it if you were one of the first transfers.”

“Thanks, but I’m staying here with Leo.”

“What if that’s not what he wants?”

“Then, I don’t know.” Hazel and Leo wandered closer. Leo made Festus fold up into a suitcase, looking like he was ready to jet off to the big city.

“I wish we could see more of New York,” Hazel sighed dreamily. “Nico, next time, we should see a Broadway show.”

“What’d you do yesterday?” Will asked, and Hazel launched into an impressive list of her sibling’s trip with Nico. Nico didn’t have anything to add but a few corrections and _Yeah_ ’s. It was nice to see him with a happy and relaxed look on his face, reminding Jason once more of how everyone’s changed in the past year.

“Hey,” Leo tugged his shoulder. Because Leo was sitting on the lifted stones and Jason was standing below him in the sand, they were the same height. “What’s wrong?”

Jason shook his head.

“You look like someone kicked your puppy. What’s on your mind?”

He shrugged, not having any better way to communicate. Leo rolled his eyes and handed him his 3DS. With the stylus, he slid across the apps and tapped one that had a yellow emoji hand. A microphone icon urged him to speak. “Um…?” It transcribed his words in big letters on the top screen while the bottom screen had two cartoon hands whose fingers wiggled hesitantly.

Leo peeked and laughed. “It’s easier to carry than that stupid chalkboard. Me and Harls were working on it for a bit. I downloaded a couple of dictionaries, but they only get published once a decade, so it’s not going to be completely up to date in a year or even a few months. But it’s easier,” Leo slid the stylus into it’s holding spot. “It’s really barebones because I’m not a fan of programming, but Harley’s oddly good at it. I think it might be his medium.”

“This is really cool, Leo.” The device loosely translated it, but the point still got across.

“Thanks.”

Annabeth and Percy came back with picnic blankets and black plastic bags from a nearby bodega. It was around the time Hedge arrived in his SUV. While Will organized the sheets, the demigods lined up as the satyr and his wife approached. Because it was dark, he flicked on the few camping lanterns that Annabeth had brought.

“Um, who’s the kid?” Leo whispered to Jason and Piper.

“His son, Chuck.” His translator interpreted it as **HIS NUNCHUCK**. Annabeth helped him out, and Leo’s eyes went wide. He elbowed Jason and Piper, snickering.

“His son’s name is _Chuck?_ Like Chuck No-”

“HELLO CUPCAKES!” Gleeson Hedge bellowed, dropping down his bags on the ground. His hair had more grays sprinkled in since Jason last saw him, but still wore his signature baseball cap. Despite the weather, Hedge was only wearing a light looking sweatshirt and baggy track pants. His wife trailed behind, adjusting a thick coat and a hat on their child.

“Oh my God-” Leo was cut off by a giant hug from Hedge. Leo was taller than the satyr by a good half-foot, so everyone could see the pained wince. Jason didn’t blame him. Hedge was scarily in shape.

“Nice to see you, Coach,” Jason said, picking up the thrown bags. “You as well, Mellie.”

“Oh, hi, Jason,” Mellie was tired but smiled cheerily nevertheless. “Do you mind?” She offered a baby seat with the crook of her elbow, and Piper wiggled her finger in front of Chuck. Chuck babbled and laughed happily.

“Where ya been, kid?” Hedge let Leo free. “Haha! Coming back to life. That’ll show the Earth Witch.” He heavily slapped Leo’s back, causing him to stumble. Leo seemed amused as he looked at Jason questioningly.

“McLean! You didn’t tell me the boy was here!” Hedge staggered up to Nico and punched his shoulder. “Where’s Ramirez?”

“Uh,” Nico flushed at the attention suddenly being on him. “With the Hunters?”

Hedge nodded as if he approved. “Good for her. Those girls are a good lot. Jackson, Chase, and Leveque! Is the whole ship here?” He scurried off to meet Percy and Annabeth, who greeted him with hesitant smiles. Hazel’s eyes were glued on the baby.

Leo peered curiously over Piper’s shoulder. “Look at his little hooves. I can’t believe someone wanted to create another Hedge.”

“He’s the spitting image of Gleeson,” Mellie cooed. “Isn’t he just so adorable?”

At seeing his mom, Chuck beamed and reached out for her. Piper placed Chuck in the baby seat. She made little baby talk and tickled his tummy. Leo made faces at the baby and also made baby talk. Jason stood back because he wasn’t so fond of children. There wasn’t anything wrong with them… it was just hard to talk to someone who only had two teeth.

“C’mere, Jason.” Hedge’s strong hand grabbed his shoulder. He looked down to find Hedge looked deathly serious. They stepped aside towards the water. Jason grabbed a lantern just in case.

“Yeah, Hedge?”

The satyr looked out to the water, face illuminated with yellow light. “You’re not coming with us to Oklahoma. Am I right about that?”

“I’m not.”

“Good,” Hedge grunted. “Keep an eye on Valdez and Di Angelo. They’re both no good troublemakers. I won’t always be there to kick ass when you guys get into trouble.”

“Got it. Keeping an eye out.”

“Jason,” Hedge said more sternly. “You’re a good kid. Maybe too good. There’s no mean bone in your body. I don’t know how anyone believed you were at Wilderness. You’re the rules guy-”

“ _Got it_ ,” Jason grumbled.

“What I’m saying is to relax. You kicked Dirt Face’s butt, you have no issues and got your friend back. Take a vacation and eat some cans,” Hedge scratched his scruffy goatee. “I’d recommend Jamaica. Beautiful place this time of year. Lots of hot naiads- nothing on my Mellie, though.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Good,” Hedge slapped his back. “You overthink!”

Leo raised an eyebrow when he came back. Piper rattled a baby toy at Jason.

“Come play with Chuck,” she said. “It’s my fault you haven’t seen him in a while.” She looked apologetic enough.

Jason shook the toy in front of Chuck, and the baby satyr’s eyes grew wide, and then they closed as his mouth opened into a piercing wail.

* * *

Mellie assured him it wasn’t Jason’s fault. Chuck had been fussy anyway because he was teething, plus he didn’t take his usual afternoon nap. She also said that Chuck was being overstimulated from seeing Piper again, in addition to the city lights. It just felt like she gave Jason a lot of excuses to avoid saying that Jason was terrible with kids.

Leo found it the most hilarious thing ever. He caught Jason scowling at Chuck and burst out laughing again. They had settled on the walkway together a few feet away from everyone else. Mellie allowed Chuck to sit in the seat by Jason to show that no, Chuck did not hate him. It would’ve been more convincing if she didn’t look so worn out, and the satyr wasn’t sleeping.

The real reason probably was because Leo and Jason were the quietest of the group. Jason got annoyed by Hedge’s boisterous voice pretty quickly, and Leo couldn’t catch most of the conversation without awkward pauses. In the sand on a blanket, Annabeth was talking with Hazel and Piper as they ate Flamin Hot Cheetos, while Percy floated in the river. Hedge and Nico were catching up, and Mellie was updating Will about her son’s health. It was only 11:45.

“Do you think you’re going to want kids?” Leo suddenly said. He was staring at Chuck behind them. The 3DS sat between them, listening in.

“I don’t know. Do you?”

“Maybe. I like kids.”

“Oh. I don’t.”

“Yeah, I can tell,” Leo chuckled softly. “I thought all the kids out there looked up to the great Jason Grace, but I guess they didn’t get the memo.” Leo’s hands fiddled with a toy, building something. “Calypso might’ve wanted kids, but I don’t know.”

Jason could barely see Leo’s face with the dark lighting and blurry vision, so he scooted closer. “Are you sure you’re okay with Calypso leaving?”

“I don’t know,” Leo repeated, but he sounded honest. “I knew she was going to leave. Man, I just didn’t expect her to do it when she did.” His fingers began to move faster.

“You knew she was going to leave?”

“Duh. Everyone does,” Leo blinked, registering what he said. “Whoops. Didn’t mean to say it like that. She’s just like that. I didn’t want to hold her back or anything.”

“But you weren’t holding her back.”

Leo shook his head with an awkward smile. “You, my dude, don’t understand the ladies. Calypso and I wanted different things,” He dropped his toy, a little wind-up car. Leo wound it up, and the car rolled until it fell off the stones and plunked into the sand. He seemed okay with that. Calm. “Calypso was like, I don’t know, like some kind of bird? I nursed her to health from being trapped in a cage, and she needed to fly away.” Leo scrunched up his nose and turned to Jason. “That _so_ didn’t make sense. Forget what I said.”

It did make sense in a way to Jason. Was he and Piper the same way? They wanted different things- or at least Piper knew what she wanted, and Jason wasn’t it. Was Jason her crutch during their quests? Just something for her to feel supported until she can go out on her own. Some of it made sense.

“Ah, how are you and Piper?” Leo changed the subject. “She hasn’t told me any of the juicy details. Did you guys do it?”

“Do it?”

“You know…” Lude made a crude gesture. Jason didn’t need sign language to get that. Jason blushed. “Oh shit, you totally did. Did you cry? You look like someone who would cry.”

“Leo, there’s a _baby_ here.”

Leo made a funny face and held up an imaginary mic to Chuck. He was wearing thick headphones to avoid being bothered by the fireworks. “Mr. Baby, do you think Jason Grace cried like, uhhhh, _a baby_ when he and Piper did it? The world wants to know.” Chuck huffed in his sleep, and Leo looked at Jason, fingers to his ear like he was on a headset. “Uh huh… I see… Good point… Mr. Baby thinks that Jason was, in fact, a giant cry baby when Piper screwed him.”

“You’re not funny.”

“I politely disagree.” He dropped his hands and stared at the 3DS. “It’s okay. I would cry if Piper fucked me too. There’s no shame in it.”

Jason rolled his eyes. “We didn’t do anything besides kiss.”

“Oh? _Oh_ ,” Leo giggled to himself. “Heh.”

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing. Hehe.”

“Tell me, Valdez,” Jason demanded and reached over to grab him. “You’re annoying. What’s funny?”

“Hehe.” Leo tried to scramble away, but he kicked the baby seat and jumped, scared that he had woken up Chuck. Jason used this to his advantage to tackle Leo down, who squirmed and kept giggling to himself.

“What’s so funny, huh? What’s _funny?_ ” He spoke in slow and exaggerated movements so Leo could understand. Leo was equally amused at Jason’s effort and struggled against Jason’s hold. Jason wasn’t in shape, but he was still stronger than Leo. He pinned Leo’s arms above his head and asked again. Leo stopped wiggling and stuck out his tongue. It was pink, and Jason watched it slide back between Leo’s full lips.

There was a loud winding noise followed by a POP! The dark sky burst into greens and reds. Leo jolted at the sudden colors.

“Aw man,” Leo whined. “We missed the countdown.”

Jason glanced at the colorful sky and then back to Leo. The bright lights reflected off his face, dark eyes shining as he tilted his head to look at the fireworks. Jason was only now realizing Leo’s hair had grown long over the past few months as it was splayed out across the smooth stones. He felt dizzy and caught his breath.

More fireworks popped above him, but Jason couldn’t bring himself to look. He could hear the others cheering behind them. Leo looked at him, concern growing. “What?”

“I’m so happy you’re back.” Jason murmured. Leo didn’t understand, and Jason sat up. Nico and Will were kissing, Will’s hat lazily hiding them from view. Annabeth whispered in Percy’s ear, and he kissed her forehead. Even Mellie and Hedge shared a gleeful New Years’ kiss, with the aura giggling as she floated in his lap, and pulled Hedge’s cap down with her kiss.

Hazel’s head was tilted up at the sky, grinning. Piper sat alone, arms around her knees. She had been watching them, Jason and Leo, and when Jason and her eyes met, she gave a stiff smile. She stood up and started walking over.

Leo was still lying down, looking at the fireworks. “Dude, remind me to give Festus some fireworks- oh hey Pipes.” She typed into her phone, and he sat up after reading it, looking serious.

 **I need to tell you something** , Jason caught.

* * *

After the fireworks, they packed up the stuff and headed to a nearby McDonald’s. It was one of the places open so early in the morning- it was almost 1 AM- and it was cheap. Ironically, the bright white of the fast-food restaurant was a million times brighter than any of the fireworks they saw earlier.

Jason, Leo, and Piper sat at one of the counters facing the window, far from the group. The McDonald’s was empty except for a few other teenagers hanging by the bathrooms, a woman and a small girl, and a bored employee sweeping spilled fries.

“Here,” Piper dropped the black tray filled with food. “Two large fries, one Southwest Salad with no chicken, a Big Mac, a Chicken McNuggets Happy Meal, and three Sprites.”

Jason took the Big Mac and a Sprite. “Thanks.”

“No problem. I lost the Rock, Paper, Scissors.”

Leo reached for a nugget. In front of him was the toy that came with the Happy Meal, a cheap Hello Kitty watch with a pink band. He poked it with a paperclip. “So, what’s up?”

They got interrupted earlier because Chuck woke up from his nap. The baby, now safely a few tables away, was happily gnawed on a pacifier. Piper sipped from her straw. “Can we switch seats?” She asked Jason quietly.

They swapped seats, so Leo and Piper were sitting next to each other now, Jason on the opposite side of her. She tapped into her phone quickly and passed it along to Leo, avoiding Jason’s gaze. Jason didn’t want to see Leo’s face- he was sure it would be heartbroken- so he looked toward the other occupants. The little girl a few tables away had a whipped cream mustache as she lapped at her milkshake like a puppy. The woman next to her, a very young mom or an older sister, perhaps, was in the middle of a phone call and giving the child dirty looks.

“Oh.” He heard Leo say. “Really? Dang.”

Jason swiveled back to see Piper typing again and Leo watching her press away in thought, slurping from his straw with his chin resting on his fist. She showed him the screen, and he scanned it, and his eyes flitted to Jason. “Yeah. That makes sense.”

Piper shared the screen again. Leo shook his head, and she said, “Thank you,” under her breath. Another typed message and Leo shoved another chicken nugget in his mouth.

“Like,” he talked as he chewed. “Like, I get it. Do what you gotta do, man.” He focused on Jason. “So you’re staying. Weird, but whatever floats your boat.” Leo went back to picking at his Hello Kitty watch.

“I’m staying for you,” Jason said. “There’s nowhere else to go anyway.”

Piper’s arms were folded over the counter. She slouched forward. “That’s not true, Jason.”

“As opposed to what? Making you miserable in Oklahoma?”

“I wouldn’t be miserable. You’re like family- you’ll always be welcomed.”

“I can’t just leave.”

Piper reached for her salad. She stabbed a tomato. “Why not? What’s keeping you to Camp Half-Blood? You, yourself, said Rome was your home. Except, you’re here in Brooklyn and not San Francisco.”

Jason protested, “I said that last year before we went to pick up the others in New Rome. I didn’t know what I wanted.”

“LA and San Francisco were six hours away by car, and Tempest could’ve taken you three times that speed. You could’ve visited New Rome if you wanted,” Piper said. “But you didn’t. The only reason why you wanted to come to Camp Half-Blood was because Leo was here.” Piper’s words were soft but just as poignant as if she said them while shooting him. “You should figure out and admit what’s really going on with you, Jason. I don’t want to argue with you anymore.”

“I don’t want to lose you or Leo again,” Jason blurted. His jaw snapped shut, uncomfortable with how his inner thoughts had been coaxed out of him. Piper's eyes widened.

“Sorry,” Piper said, careful to avoid any hidden magic in her voice. “I didn’t mean to.”

“It’s fine,” Jason said, though it wasn’t. “I’m sorry about pushing you to tell Leo. You were right earlier.”

“Earlier?”

“Saying I don’t know what I want. I don’t.”

“Oh, Jason, is that what was bothering you?” Piper asked, worry written all over her face. “I didn’t mean it. You should forget what I said back then. You _want_ to protect your friends. I know that now. But we’re also not helpless.”

Jason crumbled up his napkin. “I know that.”

It wasn’t an urge to protect them. He knew Piper was strong- she’s shown him countless times that she was stronger than him. Leo could defend himself as well with his quick wit and sharp mind. They were both so adaptable in ways Jason failed to be. They saved his life numerous times.

Jason was the helpless one out of them. He needed them. They were the only ones there when Jason didn’t understand anything, and they were the only ones who still stuck with him. Piper breaking up with him was something Jason could deal with. That was inevitable- they shouldn’t have continued dating under false pretenses after the Grand Canyon, even if they liked each other. He understood that. But Piper going to Oklahoma? Jason had no control. He was helpless to her whims, and she wanted to leave. She was _going_ to leave him, and Jason couldn’t deal with _that_.

Hedge left, and he was supposed to be Jason’s protector. Why didn’t Hedge search with them for Leo? Why didn’t Hedge try to contact him after he went away to boarding school? Jason was angry. Frank and Hazel stopped looking because they resigned themselves to New Rome. How could Jason’s home take them away from him like that? Everyone from Camp Half-Blood gave up on finding Leo after the first month. Annabeth and Percy left for school, but when did class become more important than their friend?

But Piper didn’t leave. She stayed with Jason as they searched, and combed, and waited for Leo. Then she sent him away, and Jason was alright with that because he knew a break was good for them, and Piper would come back. And she _did_ , Piper came back, came back with the best possible news that Leo was back as she sat in front of his dorm, and Jason almost kissed her except he remembered he wasn’t allowed to anymore.

Leo was different, but he was permanent now, and sure, he came with Calypso, but Jason disliked her from the beginning. She was _known_ as someone who makes others leave, and while he felt bad for her, Leo still liked her, so he did too for a while. Calypso left, and Piper wanted to leave also. When she leaves, Leo would want to go too, and Jason wouldn’t have anyone permanent anymore.

It was such _shit_. Jason’s known the feeling since he was little, and a drunk Beryl Grace made that stupid deal to give him up. Him losing his memories with Leo and Piper gave him a do-over, but that only screwed him over more.

Jason didn’t know who he was anymore, nor did he think he _ever_ knew.

“Sorry,” Jason repeated. “You _should_ go to Oklahoma. Figure out who you are.”

“Thank you,” Piper said. She hesitantly reached to hug him, unsure of where they were, but Jason hugged her first. He kissed her cheek.

Twenty minutes later, they were saying goodbye to Hedge’s family and heading back to camp on Festus. Leo gave his upgraded Hello Kitty watch to the little girl before they left. Jason gripped Piper’s hips, and she rubbed his knuckles.

“We should seriously do an Argo Reunion,” Hazel gushed once they met up at camp again. “It’ll be good for everyone to reconnect again in a few months.”

Annabeth agreed with genuine interest. She glanced towards Percy, who was in the middle of an emergency Iris Message from his mom. He wanted to make sure everything was okay, being as she was heavily pregnant. “I’d love to, and I think so would he. How’s early August sound? It’ll line up with defeating Gaea, and it’s before we go away to college..”

It also aligned with Leo’s death. “Maybe we should aim for June? We can come after the festivities of the Feast. Like when we first meet at Camp Jupiter. The first group of Greeks peacefully coming to the Romans?”

“That’s good too,” Hazel said. “We can decide this later. I’m tired right now. Good night, guys.” They said their goodnights and Hazel, Nico, and Will left toward their respective cabins.

“Mom said there’s someone waiting to see me,” Jason overheard Percy say to Annabeth. He waved goodbye to them and called back his hippocampi to travel away.

Piper gave Leo a hug before she left. She didn’t have anything to say to Jason. She was leaving tomorrow.

“Hey,” Leo grabbed him before Jason could leave as well. “Can I sleep at your cabin tonight? I don’t-”

“You don’t need to explain it,” Jason shushed him. “I got you. We’re stuck together, you and me.” Then he just nodded at Leo, hoping he caught on to some of what he said.

Leo looked like he was seeing Jason for the first time. “Right,” he murmured. His hand brushed Jason’s, and Jason closed the space, linking their fingers together. Leo’s eyes traced where Piper had been standing a few minutes ago. “Thanks.”

Jason shrugged. Of course, he would let Leo sleep in his cabin. They’ve slept in worse and tighter spaces, and Jason needed someone else in that unfriendly place anyway. What was Jason’s was Leo’s, to an extent. Who else would he say that too, _but_ Leo?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A final note:  
> 1) The school Harley references is PS 347 in New York. Um, a lot of public schools elementary/jr highs start with "PS" and then a number in NYC. This one is the only deaf/hearing school to my knowledge. Most deaf schools aren't open to hearing children. It's not that hard to find out more, so feel free to look it up. 
> 
> 2) So I set up for Apollo to come in next chapter, but Rick is a little tricky with his timeline. From my understanding, the Hidden Oracle takes place in mid-January, and then Burning Maze ends somewhere in March? I would love to write about Apollo/Lester again, but I'll probably have to find my book instead of bullshitting characters again (... as I did with Calypso, Harley, Will and Nico, because for the LIFE of me am I too lazy to look for those books). If I did add Apollo, I'd probably gloss over his battles pretty quickly or just ignore them entirely. And of course, with Apollo comes Meg :) [I'm aware that Magnus Chase occurs at the same time, but uhhhh we're gonna ignore that. ]
> 
> Some long-winded musings:
> 
> I really liked Jason's identity problems in The Lost Hero, but I wish it progressed more in the series. I read TLH when I was in 6th grade because my best friend at the time told me there were more Percy Jackson books after TLO, and I went :O and absorbed them (HoH had JUST came out that MONTH, and BoO didn't come out until the following school year so I came in at an awful time for fandom lol) (It was an EXTREMELY good time for Leico tho, my first love).
> 
> So as a 10 yr old starting middle school with a messed up childhood, I connected a LOT with TheLostTrio, and Jason's identity crisis was so real to me. Idk, Rick made Jason remember his past and he was just the kid of two camps, and while he did question his allegiance at points, I wished Rick did more with it. I, of course, felt cheated with Leo's death (and ESPECIALLY with Jason's), but I really did enjoy the thought of Jason being Pontifex Maximus to merge the camps. But I guess he never fully did it because he got obsessed searching for Leo? 
> 
> Idk. Nothing really good came from TheLostTrio's ending for any of them? All three of them are all unbearably tragic considering that they were thrown into this quest by Hera. TLH is probably my favorite book, because it introduced the people who were at the core of the prophecy (Leo and Jason) and explored someone who had to grow into a life she didn't ask for (Piper), while being silly (bruh Khione's mess) but all terrible to it's characters (Medea and the kidnapping). It was such an awesome dynamic to throw two people who didn't know anything about being demigods except for the outcasting and awful parts (Piper's bullying/"klepto" and Leo's childhood), and place them with a guy who's only life up until then was ONLY about being a demigod. And then to have that guy confused about his role? That shit's poetic. 
> 
> It's also interesting the TheLostTrio's theme seems to be centered around identity/what they lived up to, but none of them really figured it out. Leo's story was... y'know lol, Jason dies later without diving into what it means to be apart of two camps, and Piper never cared for her mom's side and only now got the chance to explore her dad's (after dealing with the deaths of her two best friends). It's really tragic. 
> 
> Anyway, if you have any thoughts about TheLostTrio I would love to hear them. Throw it to me here in the comments or on Tumblr. 
> 
> ALSO idk when im gonna write the next chap but it ain't gonna be in april lmaooo, THIS WAS MESSY FOR ME XD

**Author's Note:**

> thoughts and criticism are always accepted, but please I beg you tell me what's wrong, this was so much work and so much sleep not done, im dying :( .... feel free to talk to me on my tumblr @bunkernine
> 
> stay safe during this trying times, hope you all have a wonderful day :)
> 
> (also i'm never dropping a 10k chapter ever again, i just don't have the stamina lol)


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